Meet Larry Atkins Author of Skewed: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Media Bias (Prometheus Books)

Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest Larry Atkins. Larry is a journalist, university professor, liberal columnist, lawyer, and author of Skewed: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Media Bias (Prometheus Books).

He has written over 500 articles, Op-Eds, and essays for many publications, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dallas Morning News, Detroit News, The Hill, Huffington Post, Indianapolis Star, Jewish Exponent, Jewish Monthly, National Public Radio (commentaries for Morning Edition and Only a Game), Newark Star-Ledger, Newsday, Newsweek, Newsworks.org (WHYY), Online Journalism Review, Orange County Register, OpEdNews.com, Pennsylvania Magazine, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer and Inquirer Sunday Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly, The Progressive Magzine, Quill Magazine (SPJ), San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, Tikkun, Washington Post, and The Writer Magazine.

He teaches Journalism as an Adjunct Professor at Temple University, Arcadia University, and Montgomery County Community College.

Norm: Good day Larry and thanks for participating in our interview.

How did your career as a writer unfold?

Larry: Growing up as a kid, I always knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I wasn't sure what type of writer I wanted to be. I wrote for my school newspapers at Cheltenham High School and La Salle University, covering mostly sports. During college, I was a stringer for a local newspaper, the Chestnut Hill Local, covering all types of events and issues.

After graduating from Temple Law School in 1986, I had several jobs related to legal research and writing. In the early 1990s, I started to write and publish articles and Op-Eds. First locally in places like the Philadelphia Inquirer and then nationally. It was at this time that I developed a passion for writing articles that expressed my opinions.

I started teaching university journalism courses in 2004 at Temple and Arcadia and began writing extensively about issues related to media and journalism. At the Philadelphia Writers Conference in 2014, I met my agent Maryann Karinch and pitched my idea to write my book Skewed. She loved the idea and was able to successfully pitch the book to Prometheus Books.

Norm: As a writer, what were the tools of the trade that you used the most? What was your favorite gadget?

Larry: I can say that up until 1996 or so, my least favorite gadget was a typewriter. I had to type out and fax or mail every article to different publications and then start all over again. There was no cutting and pasting from prior emails. Obviously, computers, the internet, and email helped my writing career substantially.

Nowadays, I like using Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin to promote my work and to communicate with other writers and people who comment on what I write.

Norm: What are some common myths about the journalism profession?

Larry: Number one, the media is not the enemy of the people. They are not fake news. Almost every mainstream media outlet incorporates an ethics code that journalists must adhere to, which includes the requirements that journalists seek the truth and report it, be fair and accurate, provide context, never deliberately distort facts or context, label advocacy and commentary, and avoid conflicts of interest.

Most people don't know that the Editorial Page of a newspaper works separately from the rest of the newspaper. Therefore, while the Editorial Page and columnists have a bias and agenda, the rest of the paper is focusing primarily on reporting factual information in fair manner. I don't think that the mainstream media is as liberally biased as conservatives would have people believe. CBS News, for example, is much more fair and balanced than MSNBC.

Norm: What is media bias and how do we go about recognizing it?

Larry: Media bias, or Advocacy Journalism, is reporting with an agenda. The writer or broadcaster cherry picks facts and statistics and has expert guests or opinions that support their viewpoints. Examples of this type of journalism are Fox News and conservative talk radio on the right, and MSNBC and Salon on the left.

Readers and viewers need to be questioning and skeptical about the information that is provided in this type of reporting and to try to verify the facts from multiple news sources. They should consider things like the authority of the source, how current the information is, what the tone of the host or writer is, whether the publication is affiliated with an organization designated to advance a certain cause, what type of experts the article relies on, pejorative or insulting language or tone, and the lack of statistics or data from reputable sources to support the article.

Norm: Do you believe that America seems to be saturated with “fake news” and that many journalists, who are blinded by their own ideology, are no longer able to recognize their own bias?

Larry: I think that most of the fake news that is concerning is the false and misleading information that is spread by people or trolls on social media in order to advance an agenda or to make money from clicks. Then people tweet or retweet information that confirms their values and beliefs without considering the source or validity of the information that they are sending.

I think that Advocacy Journalism media outlets and opinion hosts, whether they be liberal or conservative, can be blinded by their own ideology and want to give their audience what they want to hear in order to confirm their own values.

Norm: Some journalists, such as Lara Logan, the former CBS News foreign correspondent, believe that the mainstream media in our country has an overwhelming liberal bias that excludes and dehumanizes millions of Americans. Do you agree or disagree with her? Please explain.

Larry: Although I think that some news outlets such as The New York Times Editorial Page, CNN, MSNBC, and websites like Salon.com have a very strong liberal bias, I think that for the most part, the allegation that the entire mainstream media has an overwhelming liberal bias is overblown.

While there might be a slight liberal bias as to which stories to cover, I think that most mainstream news outlets and reporters, including major papers like the Washington Post and New York Times, are trying to report fairly and accurately and without a substantial bias.

The mainstream media was very harsh towards President Bill Clinton during his presidency and towards Hillary Clinton during her campaign. They also, for the most part, gave President George W. Bush a pass during the lead up to the Iraq war.

If there is any bias, I think that there is a bias towards reporting on controversy and on stories that they think will increase circulation or viewership. I like to cite this chart from Allsides.com, which shows the continuum of bias among major media outlets: https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart. By the way, even if a media outlet is liberal, I don't think that it dehumanizes millions of Americans.

Norm: Could you tell our audience a little about your book, Skewed: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Media Bias.

Larry: My book sets out to explain and define the concept of Advocacy Journalism and how it has emerged as one of the most popular ways to receive information. I give a history of how advocacy journalism existed in colonial days and then reappeared years later through muckraking journalists in the early 1900s, then talk radio, Fox News, MSNBC, blogs, social media, etc.

I explain the pros and cons of advocacy journalism and show how it differs from more straightforward and objective journalism. Advocacy journalism can be entertaining and provocative, and it can validate people's viewpoints. However, it has also contributed to the political polarization that exists in the United States today.

I also discuss the concept of media literacy and how readers can detect bias and sort out real information and facts from misleading, biased, or false information. I emphasize the importance of news consumers breaking out of their own echo chambers and expose themselves to a variety of different news outlets with different perspectives. I let readers know about the multitude of fact checking and media literacy organizations that exist in the United States and worldwide. Even though I'm liberal, I try to present a fairly centrist and balanced perspective and analysis regarding media bias and advocacy journalism, unlike most books on media bias which give the pervasive viewpoint that the media is liberally biased or a few books that complain about the alleged corporate conservative media that ignores many liberal issues like climate change and poverty.

Norm: What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them? As a follow up, what do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book?  

Larry: My goal was to educate people about Advocacy Journalism, especially its history and how it has evolved into the major player that it is today. I wanted to reach people of all ages, including K-12, college students, and adults to inform them about this type of media. I hope that readers will learn how to confirm information, how to break out of their own information bubbles and echo chambers, and to become savvy news consumers. I'm glad that my book is currently located in over 550 libraries around the world so that the message is being spread.

Norm: What was the most difficult part in writing the book?

Larry: Finding the time to do it. I was given a deadline of approximately six months, which happened to coincide with the school year when I was teaching four courses during the fall and spring semesters at three different universities.

I interviewed over 20 journalism and media literacy experts in my book, including best selling author Mark Bowden, Pulitizer Prize winners James Steele and Will Bunch, OpEd News founder Rob Kall, and John Timpane, editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, and those interviews took time to complete.

Norm: Are there vocabulary words or concepts in your book that may be new to readers Define some of those.

Larry: Media literacy or news literacy is a growing educational field that most people are not aware of. There are universities that have programs in Media Literacy. More and more K-12 schools are starting to incorporate media literacy classes, and several states have passed laws that require K-12 media literacy courses and other states are contemplating such legislation.

Norm: What upcoming projects are you excited about? 

Larry: I will continue to pitch and write articles and Op-Eds for major publications. My main areas of interest are Media and Journalism, Sports, Politics, Education, and Law, but I like to write about many other topics as well. Ideally, I would like to be a regular columnist for a major newspaper or website. I'm also working on ideas for future books as well.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and Skewed: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Media Bias?

Larry:   My WEBSITE.  Skewed is available on Amazon and through your local bookstore. My Twitter is @larryatkins4. To paraphrase Phil Collins, if you follow me, I will follow you.

Norm: As this interview comes to an end, what question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has?

Larry: You have me stumped on that one. I can't think of anything.

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors

Larry: Thanks Norm, I appreciate it.