Not all bloggers are honest blokes, these bastards aren’t. Yeah you got us good. ABC = Asinine Bullshit for Comments. Yeah now I can forgive you wankers. I still feel that my trust in some of you has been betrayed…you know who you are!
So in my last editorial I encountered something I found rather perplexing, bias. Now I am an ignorant bastard who for some reason was put on this earth to be a soldier. Sure my country sends me to college and urges me to get a 4 year degree from an accredited university. However, in the end I come out perhaps a bit wiser, but remain utterly ignorant of the ways of this world. I have few answers and plenty of questions that I hardly ever bother to ask. So I have decided to pose the community a question as to what a blogger’s responsibility is to their readership in regards to bias. It is easy to tout fair and balanced and unbiased as buzz words like they have become in the media, but how does that relate to us the Otakusphere?
Crusader’s view
The thing I have always presupposed about bias is that as long as you believe in something you will always have it influence your decisions, it can be overt or it can be surreptitious in how one sees the world around them. I believe in the American Dream, so it stands to reason that I have a favorable bias for it. I believe in my job so naturally I should be biased in favor of my profession. I believe in God and that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of man. Though, being somewhat disillusioned with organized religion, I do think at times Jesus died in vain. Therefore I have a pro-God and pro-Jesus bias. I doubt many of us have no core beliefs even that hedonist Stripey has a pro-jealousy bias. I know Impz has an anti-mecha bias. Hinano has an anti-Noe bias, Kabitzin has a pro-Hiromi bias as does Stripey. Ascaloth has an anti-Jun bias. I have a pro-Noe bias. To believe in something or someone is to be biased.
So what of this fair and balanced thing? I for one think that because people normally believe in something that they can never be fully impartial. To even make a post about something implies that one actually cares somewhat about the issue being discussed. To be fair and balanced is to not care about the issue in the first place. Sure we can pretend to be fair and balanced, but can we turn off our own sense of morality off on a whim? Can a blogger disregard all of his/her preconceived ideas and the things our parent’s or guardians taught us? I have always believed that who we are also defines our personal biases. Perhaps you were raised in a family that was poor; you might therefore be biased against excess. If we cannot ever fully escape our personal biases or discard our beliefs at a moment’s notice then how is it possible for one to be fair and balanced? I do not think such a thing is possible, but I am a cynic. I can no more escape my own cynicism borne out of years of being raised by my mum and years spent in the military, than I can cut off my own head and survive.
I have a pro-Kyon-ko and pro-Itsuko bias.
Yes we would like to be open minded, but if you believe in God then you will probably continue to believe in God unless something major sparks a crisis in faith. To stop believing in something takes much more effort than just telling oneself to be open minded. Sure you can present a whole slew of facts, but your own personal biases will dictate how you will interpret the data. Our own life experiences will color our perceptions of the world around us. If I lived in the deep south of the US I would probably love humidity rather than the Mediterranean climate of my birth. My mum is a bigot, and she taught us about how bad those non-Chinese were, and like any good kid I listened to my mum and I believed her. It took a long time to get over the bigotry she instilled in me, and even now I can still sense that it is still there even if it is a faint whisper in the back of my mind.
Edit:
To be sure there is an obligation to be as unbiased as possible when doing a serious editorial, but I doubt that is the case in an episodic post. There is also something to be said for being very clear, hence why mein boss thinks me a great big idiot… (see below). If I have to break down he definition of moe every time I did a True Tears post I will go freaking mad. So yeah a serious editorial about something warrants some more critical thinking, but for a episode summary I doubt we often break out the serious cap and go in depth about how Mako-cakes has broken the anime blogosphere by looking at a discarded box of clothing. I had thought the interpreting fiction part of the post would have been a clear indicator that I speak only of episode summaries and impression posts. Though this bit of miss-communication below aptly proves my point, we are all prone to misinterpretations and outright stupidity. Not even Impz and his 35 PhDs will ever guarantee that he will ever be perfect. Besides journalists are scum who give away valuable information to the enemy…
What ever is going on here I am all for it.
The other thing that I do not quite understand how being biased and not fair and balanced when discussing fiction (Episode Summaries, Impressions, i.e. NOT EDITORIALS) is harmful. I was under the impression that fiction is open to interpretation and that whatever view we have on a piece of fiction is valid. I do not suppose that there is no one true interpretation. I have never thought of bloggers as being defenders of truth and have long supposed that the majority of what we post (again episode summaries) is not the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but rather our own interpretations of our favorite series. We can either agree or disagree with a person’s view point but so long as were are here interpreting fiction there will never be one right answer or one right view point. So if it is hard if not impossible to escape one’s own biases and beliefs then what do we bloggers owe our readers? I guess we can start by admitting a few of our own faults and some of our biases.
Impz’s view
After reading Crusader’s views on bias, I am deeply troubled. I have been trained as a journalist in my school, and one of the key things that we take note of is personal bias. I will accept his view point that personal bias always plays a part in our decision making, be it blogging, pictures or sentence flow. We are all human, and we have that instinct to generalize. Yet, giving just one side of the coin does not provide a full rounded picture of the whole situation. No one will profess to have total neutrality. We should strive toward a certain modicum of detachment from their own personal biases in our articles. All this is for the grand idealistic purpose of objectivity.
I am also pro-Soma, and pro-blogging under the influence.
You might ask: Why do we need objectivity and the reduction of biased reporting in anime blogging?
In anime episodic impressions, bias is not that problematic because it is more about interpretations (the personal view is important) than giving a well rounded discussion. However, on anime editorials, a well rounded discussion is required. What is the point of presenting your own view while ignoring other legitimate view points (that you cannot agree or even consider to be true)? An editorial’s aim is to address an issue, and issues are often more well rounded than a d20.
I also cannot agree that there is no need for responsibility in a blog. You might argue that the blog is not a place for news, but for opinions. I cannot disagree but opinions have to be covering at least the major sides in an argument in order to be critical and accurate. If you cannot paint an accurate view, how do you expect to convince the dissenters? If you do not understand the other side’s arguments and put it in an objective light, how can you gain a better understanding of the situation? If you do not argue on both sides of a coin, what kind of credibility do you possess?
Edit (i.e. what Impz wrote after we had a second pow wow): In the end, I realize I went way off the tangent since Crusader is talking about anime summaries. Nonetheless, I do not deny my bias. I like Noe more than Hiromi. I dislike mecha and shounen. I lap up shoujo like a fanboy. However, when I describe about things, I am objective enough to get rid of my personal bias. I did think that Macross Frontier is ok (no one disclose the fact that there’s a green hair loli).
Crusader’s Conclusion
I also support being broken by Kana and Touma and Mako-cakes’ weirdly intriguing relationship.
I might was well start by revealing the majority of my own faults. I am known as Crusader, and like those bastards of the Christian Crusades that brought death and ruin to the holy land in a war of faith I am not a nice bloke. I have convictions of my own and am fanatically devoted to my own sense of right and wrong. I am also ignorant and evil to boot. I have no heart and have zero tolerance for the emo, the jealous, and the perpetually stupid. Such people I would sooner stab in the face with a rusty bayonet than waste a bullet to end their miserable existence. I am utterly dedicated to being a soldier because I believe God created me for that purpose. I am overly aggressive and prone to violence as a means to solve problems in the simplest way possible even if I am fully aware that it is never the best solution. I am not the holder of any truths and all of my posts are always affected by my own biases. I am not fair or balanced. I am an ignorant bastard whose only hope of intelligence is to be a blockhead that makes one cutting remark to prove some wannabe intelligentsia that he/she is but a child. I use curses and a sprinkling of German terms because that is part of the language I use. Not a day goes by when I do not say “Fuck” at least once, though usually 10 times minimum. I don’t believe in my own ability to ever fully negate personal biases so I don’t ever declare anything I write free of bias because it will surreptitiously infiltrate its way in regardless. If there is even a 0.0000000001% chance of bias then I can not claim to be unbiased. I heap shame upon my parents because I enlisted and being a soldier was a far cry from doctor or lawyer and my income is way below the six figures they wanted to see. I am working on a BS in Microbiology and coupled with a violent streak I plan on creating plague on all your mouses. I am broken by Kana and get very confused whenever Mako-cakes appears on my screen. I believe that Noe is Moe, that Haruhi-sama will return to us one day, and that Impz is indeed a green haired loli trap. I am an otaku and horribly flawed and far from perfect. I also tend to be sarcastic and have a tendency to over exaggerate.
Impz talks of credibility but at the end of the day, we are all pretty much strangers in the real world. Despite the Warlord Class of bloggers there is no one blogger’s who view on something is final or absolute. Anonymity can make us assholes, but it also makes us all equal, equally worthless. I think that unbiased editorials have a place, but we still have to keep in mind we are still discussing fiction for the most part. The day we start taking things too seriously we will end up like Francis. Who is Francis? Well here is a clip…
So kamraden bloggers and commenters are you biased as well? Or perhaps you are one of the few fair and balanced folks out there in regards to episode summaries? What is your perception of bias? Is every blog episodic post the gold standard for truth in an age of disinformation or is it that most posts are merely opinions formulated by a blogger? Are episode summaries supposed to be treated like editorials?
23 Comments
Please don’t ever turn into Francis. He is creepy beyond doubt.
Why are our comments pithy words?? I feel like a peasant! >.>
We just made a move to 3.0 our comrade programmer Rieuzedx spearheaded a new design. Just click the top post right now for the full details. Impz want to feel like a queen for a while so just bear with it and refer to Impz as your queen or the Royalty.
Don’t worry about me I am too poor to pay for a castle.
I know I have no excuse for the mischief I’ve done, so feel free to punch me please. And, as punishment to my self, I have prepared myself a warm little stew mix, and I will willingly soak there a few days, to contemplate on my actions.
as for biases, it naturally shows when we inject our own personality, principles, and values in our episodic thoughts and impressions. In my case, I want to let people see these values I believe in, to be able to impart some little bits of wisdom, and influence people positively, if I can. This way, I’m also able to gauge my sense of normalcy, whether my moral values and principles are still intact. To each his own, and every blogger is entitled to his/her own opinion, hence the proliferation of comments / discussion in the blog post serve to either reinforce these values, or correct whatever misconceptions or prejudices one may have.
Thank you for biased blogging!!
Anyone claiming to me that he is unbiased is a bullsh*tting liar. This is my so simple point of view on the matter and is the result of about almost 9 years on the internet, dealing with idiots and pretentious pricks all the while.
I think bias is fine as long as you approach it like you do a drinking problem.
For example, an alcoholic who has no intent of recovering will never say he’s drunk, for after all, he’s only had a few drinks! This is in contrast to the sobering alcoholic who wants to get better — as long as the person is aware that he or she has a problem with something and can’t view it objectively as a result, it’s fine.
The worst ones are those who aren’t aware of their biases. It’s like trying to convince a Klansman gathered at a KKK meet that he’s racist — it’s just not happening. And so on, and so forth. You get the idea.
It’s impossible to remove bias. It’s far easier to cause a genocide than to remove bias.
Worse still, we’ve got the best dehumanization tool there is: The Internet. Anyone can just assume a name (or not) and go ahead and shove their biases down other people’s throats. And they’ll never know what happened.
It wouldn’t matter if you know of them or not. You’d still do it because you’d think it affects no one.
The same happens in real life, sadly.
Bias is the spice of arguments.
“I have no heart and have zero tolerance for the emo, the jealous, and the perpetually stupid.”
Damnit Crusader, there went all hopes I had for a friendship. *turns the lights out and cries*
In all honesty, if writing is what we’re talking about here, then I actually promote bias. Let’s face facts, we’re on the internet and chances are whatever you’re writing about, someone else is writing about as well. If you don’t have an opinion, a bias, some point of view that you’re able to express in your writing, then you’ll end up just another dull rehash of someone else. I think one of the most important things in writing is personality.
IE: When I write about Naruto I write from the perspective that’s it’s complete and utter crap. Why? Because it’s way more fun to write about Naruto that way, and most Naruto fans can take everything with a grain of salt anyway. But if it comes down to it, on anything I write or comment on I’m able to approach things from an objective point of view. Yesterday Extrange asked me why I didn’t like Ghost in the Shell, and first I told him “Because it sucks.” (my bias), but then I went on to explain some things that didn’t appeal to ME in that show or shows in general.
Bias makes you who you are, gives you your writing personality, and makes reading interesting to your users. It’s like I’ve told people before, if I just wanted and episode summary or an objective comparison on two animes, etc I’d go to ANN or something like that.
From being trained as an academic, and even moreso from studying fandom and (getting a bit meta here) reading about studying fandom, I’ve learned that rather to avoid bias, you should engage bias. Note your biases and how those biases are reflected in what you are thinking and saying. This was a big deal with the study of fandom because of how fandom is so engaged with what it “studies” (if you can call it that). I’ve also seen a good discussion regarding how engaged you are with what you study from reading about the book Gang Leader For A Day, where the professor doing the study needed to be engaged with what he was studying.
Not sure we’re exactly ‘strangers’ in the sense that we don’t get a feel for each others’ opinions and views. I Guess THAT blog tends to be more opinionated in a different sense than many other ‘professionally done’ blogs that are more concerned with showing what happens in an episode then putting in the two cents. In a way, I think that kind of structure is easier to digest. You really can’t help it if you’re feeling too strongly about a particular episode to constantly put in opinions in an anime blog I guess.
Also, it’s really hard for me sometimes because I’m almost too open to different anime types. One second, I can watch a magical girl show, then a murder mystery show like Monster, then Naruto, then something like Mushishi. I find it hard to be too weened on one side of ‘taste’ as far as anime is concerned. I guess that in itself is a bias. That I purposely try not to be biased in my anime viewership.
are u still going to write about gundam 00 ?
Wowzers… slightly tl;dr but I think I got the gist of it.
I feel that bias is just another ingredient in the creation of a blogger’s style. An unavoidable one at that, no matter how much you try to tone it down. As Kabitzin says, it’s a spice. xD
Now, with regard to Impz and objectivity, I honestly feel that it’s personal preference. Whether or not you wish for a show of credibility, or to convince dissenters, is your choice. (Personally I’d like more people to dissent my opinion, lololmorecomments)
In conclusion, I do not really feel that we need to ‘admit’ our biases and faults. It’s pretty clear through your writing. The readers of your blog (ideally) do so because they enjoy your style, opinion, and ultimately, your bias. They know it’s there. They like it. It’s you.
I thought the nature of blogs was to be very personal, even raw and, yes, biased.
biases… as most of the commenters have already mentioned, it would be difficult to remove personal biases and that it is on how we act or react about it that makes the difference.
I am a person with slanted opinions and that I take pride in my choices, slightly opinionated and I would really prefer dealing with people who are open enough to get my point without trying to convince me otherwise, however, there are a lot of times wherein you have to sit down and listen to what others say in order for you to get the most out of the situation.
In writing about anime and random things, I personally believe that the writer can take charge of his or her piece since he/she takes ownership of that material and it is a part of who he/she is. Blogs, to me, are like that. Collaborative blogging such as THAT gives more color to their readers because of varying writing styles. The approach is properly thought of as they describe what happened in toto and provide screencaps for emphasis. The concluding bit is what makes each article rather great since the author would give his/her personal opinion.
Opinions can never be rid of biases. It is a definition of one’s character. By airing your own opinion, you are airing that fact that commenters may either dissent or assent and the discussion begins. That’s where fun comes in.
@usagijen
I forgive you, now where is my Shugo Chara spoilers?
Not sure about how we can actually gauge our values, given how many fetishes there are within the anime sphere. Still its nice to be able to communicate with people ina more informal setting than a overly professional setting. Constant exposure goes a long way in weakening preconception, but meeting face to face is preferable.
@tj han
You’re welcome. By the way how goes the pen0r photo collection?
@Owen S
What so I have to go to meetings and junk…?
Actually I don’t think that all biases are necessarily bad nor are all of them a problem. I think that principles are also the bedrocks of bias. Though I agree that recognizing that one cannot be subjective about something is far better than being blind to it.
@DrmChsr0
Yeah, I think that being essentially unknown tends to makes us more willing to let loose as there are no consequences. I don’t think we gain new biases but rather we gravitate towards places where they are more less accepted or reinforced. The internet is now an indispensible part of real life these days. I have no doubt that people surf the net while working…
@Kabitzin
Indeed it is. Let the Spice flow!
@rieuzedx
I never thought you were stupid, emo, or jealous. You are Kamraden, and out maid of all work.
I agree with the sentiment that episode summaries alone are not that engaging since we usually assume that the reader will have already seen it. Though it is different with raw watchers as not every one in otakudom is capable of making sense of moons speak. Yeah ANN is about as unbiased and plain boring as you can get.
@jpmeyer
I actually spoke to a historian on WWII and he confessed to not like MacArthur and had often dismissed him as a prima dona adn being a class A jerk. He never failed to make a point that MacArthur was not working for the US Army but was Generalissmo of the Philippines. He eventually was able to actually include him in his lectures on military campaigns after reading a bunch of books that cast Dugout Doug in a more favorable light during his flights to the Soviet Archives in Moscow. He still thinks that MacArthur wasn’t that great and arrogant, but at least he could talk about what MacArthur did.
I think that we can be aware of our biases and perhaps moderate them but in regards to our core values we still keep them with us and from time to time it does come out in unexpected places. Academics have to guard against their own biases, but I don’t think that they ever fully ditch them. Biases still define people and it is hard for people to change.
@Shippoyasha
I think we are for the most part strangers, heck I haven’t even met my co-bloggers in real life yet. Episode summaries are common enough and opinions do drive discussion. I think that Impz is better at doing summaries than I am since by the time I post most everyone should have seen the episode in question and there should be little need for a detailed summary. Episode summaries are failry common and what differentiates all of us is our 2 cents. I takes a while to write a post even a bad one, dispensing with a summary is not all that bad a decision for non raw watchers.
We suppose that biases are bad but that is not always the case. I don’t like certain genres because I have yet to see a series from said genre that I really liked.
@kamui
Already up.
@DS
I share your sentiment and wish you the best of luck with Sat-chan.
@Kaeboo
Yes having biased opinions does keep things fun. XD
I hesitate to disagree with Impz, but it seems to me that it isn’t quite fair to hold this site to journalistic standards. You aren’t really writing news articles, you’re writing op-eds, and the most valuable thing about an op-ed is a strong, eloquently-worded opinion. Personal biases are what form those opinions.
I enjoy reading the opinions of the bloggers on this site. You’re funny, witty, sometimes provoking and occasionally insightful. It makes for great reading, and I appreciate the time and effort you put into it. I often choose what anime to watch based on what the writers here recommend, so I value your opinions and I thank you for sharing them.
If everything is staid and bland with objectivity, it makes the madhouses less interesting to read
I think the best way for any outlet to produce objective material is to make sure and get tons of people with different viewpoints(read: biases) and have all of them comment on the discussion.
People should be open minded to the point of being willing to listen to the other’s biased viewpoints and consider them and reply back.
In that context people SHOULD say what they honestly think, biased views and all.
It is, in my opinion, more honest to give your viewpoint, which of course always depends on your own bias whether you admit it or not, and support why you feel the way you do, then to try to remain “objective”, constantly clarifying positions so as to not appear biased, and ultimately end up lying to yourself while publishing unintelligible dreck.
Everything you think, do, or say, will be based on preconceptions that are so much a part of who you are that you will never be able to get beyond them to provide an “objective” view. If you could go beyond them, you would end up having to literally abandon everything that would allow you to present any viewpoint at all.
Journalists that worship at the altar of unbiased reporting are kidding themselves.
@Sheba
We just recovered your comment sorry for the delay. I think some of of those people who have convinced them selves of their own lack of bias are simply naive.
@Nagato
Sorry about he delay in recovering you comment. I still think its good idea to spell it out sometimes, you know just in case.
@vesper
Thnaks for your support.
@Crest
Yes we all quite insane in these parts…how goes the competition for the manly thing?
@Dirian
Yeah I feel the same way about journalists too. Being objective is hard and what usually happens is that nothing much is said at all.
Oh no…. Crusader is bias.
It is not a matter of whether we ought to ‘abstain’ from biasness but how can we all get along despite our difference in opinions/preferences.
Being different is the fuel for insightful interaction and the thought of people just simply agreeing with one another is as frightening as watching an episode of *INSERT THE ANIME THAT YOU HATE*.
So if you may excuse me, I am off to sink deeper into hedonistic indulgings.
Ah, thanks Crusader. I was going bonkers since my comment didn’t go through and nobody was responding via e-mail. As for revealing biases, I actually think most bloggers do that through their about – for the most part. xD
That being said, I fully support the use of bias in blog, so I’m perfectly fine with how you do things.
Also, I’m testing to see whether or not I’m still blacklisted, lawl.
@The Sojourner
Getting along during a biased discussion is always fun.
Enjoy your hedonistic indulgences.
@Nagato
Sorry for the lateness. Not sure how this registration thing works, but I’ll be sure to ask Impz about it.
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