Institutional Racism

Despite the plethora of news services, most news printed and broadcast throughout the
world each day comes from only a few major agencies, the three largest of which are
the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Although these agencies
are 'global' in the sense of their activities, they each retain significant associations with
particular nations, namely the United States (AP), the United Kingdom (Reuters)
and France (AFP). Chambers and Tinckell suggest that the so-called global media are
agents of Anglophone values which privilege norms of 'competitive
individualism, laissez-faire capitalism, parliamentary democracy and consumerism.'
They see the presentation of the English language as international as a further feature
of Anglophone dominance.
Religious Bias
The media are often accused of bias favoring a particular religion or of bias against a
particular religion. In some countries, only reporting approved by a state religion is
permitted. In other countries, derogatory statements about any belief system are
considered hate crimes and are illegal.
According to the Encyclopedia of Social Work (19th edition), the news media play an
influential role in the general public's perception of cults. As reported in several studies,
the media have depicted cults as problematic, controversial, and threatening from the
beginning, tending to favor sensationalistic stories over balanced public debates. It
furthers the analysis that media reports on cults rely heavily on police officials and cult
"experts" who portray cult activity as dangerous and destructive, and when divergent
views are presented, they are often overshadowed by horrific stories of ritualistic torture,
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