NFL.com is the official website of the National Football League, considering this, it can be surmised that the majority of the stories that they publish do not intersect with political matters. There are, however, some cases where these topics align. Considering the NFL’s massive viewership base, according to Similar Web their website receives an average of over 45 million visitors every month, stories they release have a significant impact.
Source: Pew Research
One more example that sheds light on the significance of the NFL is this Pew Research study which shows that around 40% percent of Americans follow sports in some capacity. Considering the NFL’s magnitude in the space, it is important to understand whether the articles they release, which intersect with politics, contain any bias.
How Does Biasly Rate News Sources?
Biasly’s algorithms produce bias ratings to help provide multiple perspectives on given articles. Biasly has analyzed 200,000+ news articles from more than 3,200 news sources through our A.I. technology and team of political analysts to find the most factual, unbiased news stories.
Biasly determines the degree of political bias in news sources by using Biasly’s Bias Meter Rating, in which Biasly’s team analyzes media sources’ reliability and bias and produces three scores, a Reliability Score that measures the accuracy of media sources; an A.I. Bias Score, evaluated by A.I.; and an Analyst Bias Score evaluated by political analysts. These scores are rated based on seven rating metrics including Tone, Tendency, Diction, Author Check, Selection/Omission, Expediency Bias, and Accuracy. These metrics help our analysts to determine the political attitude of the article.
Our A.I. machine-learning system employs natural language processing and entity-specific sentiment analysis to examine individual articles and determine their bias levels. By analyzing the key terms in an article such as policies, bias phrases, political terminologies, politicians, and their nicknames, the algorithms can rate the attitude of the text. Bias scores range from -100% and 100%, with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral.
Is NFL.com Politically Biased?
Biasly’s rating for NFL.com gives the website an AI Bias Score of Center-right, a score generated through Biasly’s AI algorithms which determines bias through analysis of factors such as tone, opinion, and diction of the author, and, their respective tendencies.
Before we begin, we need to discuss bias. Bias is a natural function of humans, and we can express it both consciously and unconsciously. Bias is one of the most fundamental forms of pattern recognition in humans. This isn’t to lower the bar and say that “all things are biased,” but to explain the process in which we may come to trust certain news organizations that display patterns of coverage.
On the media’s part, there is an incentive to retain audiences, encourage them to purchase subscriptions, and rate products positively. Bias is a two-way street, people want to see news stories about things they care about, and the media needs viewers to continue their operations. This creates a positive feedback loop that influences what stories are covered and from what perspective. This also explains the actions of more liberal news organizations.
Analysis of Bias in NFL.com Online Articles
Considering that NFL.com received a score of Center-right, it can be assumed that the publication reports on most topics from a neutral point of view, and in some instances will report with a slightly conservative sentiment. It should be emphasized, however, that this overall score for the website is based on an aggregate of articles, and that ratings for individual articles will vary. In this section, we will seek to understand whether NFL.com presents any bias within its online fact-based articles.
In order to understand if bias exists within an article, some factors must be considered: the author’s tone, and tendency, as well as the author’s diction and expediency bias.
One article on NFL.com, “Attorney: No basis for Congress to Subpoena Testimony from Commanders Owner Dan Snyder”, was rated as Center-Left according to Biasly.
The author’s tone and tendency throughout remain relatively neutral, for example:
“Snyder declined on two different occasions last month to appear when first invited along with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who testified virtually before the committee on June 22, with prior obligations, international travel and concerns about due process given among the reasons Snyder would not testify.”
“Congress launched an investigation into the Commanders’ workplace culture last year after the league did not release a report of its independent review into the organization, which prompted a $10 million fine.”
The author throughout this article does not use language or make arguments that would insert bias, they solely report the statements that each party made regarding the situation without adding their own sentiment toward the event.
Looking at the author’s diction, or use of inflammatory language throughout, the author did not make use of this language:
“The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform has invited NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder to appear at a hearing later this month as part of the Congressional investigation into the team’s workplace conduct.”
Within this article, the author does not use any inflammatory language in terms of diction that would sway the reader in a certain direction.
In terms of expediency bias, there is a slight conservative bias within the title of the article, this is because it omits the fact that the attorney works directly for the Commanders. Consequently, readers who do not look further could assume that the attorney mentioned is a neutral party not directly connected to the franchise, which may lead the reader to assume the statement is true, rather than a statement in argument of the franchise. There were no images used within the article, as a result, this is not a factor in the determination of expediency bias.
It must again be emphasized, additionally, that the NFL rarely reports on matters that relate to politics or political issues, although there are rare cases, such as this situation where the areas mesh.
Who Owns the NFL?
The NFL is owned and operated through the 32 owners of each individual football team, as a result, each owner does not significantly impact the operations of NFL.com reporting. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the league has a much more significant impact than the individual team owners.
Source: Flickr
Goodell has served as the NFL’s commissioner since 2006, as he is tasked with the oversight of both the operations of the league in addition to its financial growth and influence. Considering the amount of influence that Goodell holds in the operations of the NFL he could have a considerable impact on the level of bias that the website exhibits in its reporting. However, this influence does not seem to affect the levels of bias within the publication as the majority of the articles rated on NFL.com have been rated as Center and provide relatively neutral reporting.
How to Evaluate and Uncover Bias
It can often be difficult to tell if the news you watch is biased. If you have settled on a news channel, it’s usually because you trust the information you are gaining. Unfortunately, many trust the information they are hearing because it confirms what they already believe. This is referred to as “confirmation bias.” It is important to challenge your beliefs and get third-party verification that what you are hearing is the full story. This is why we recommend using Biasly to compare different news stories side-by-side using our bias ratings to figure out what both sides think of a political issue.
Understanding that Biasly has given the NFL a Bias Rating of Center-right, it is generally safe to assume that it reports news in a neutral format. It is important to recollect that articles from a publication may contain varying levels of bias, as a result, it is helpful to remain aware of signs of bias, many of which were discussed in this article. Additionally, concerning the NFL, it is important to remember that almost the entirety of their reporting surrounds athletic coverage, meaning that the vast majority of the articles released by the publication will not contain political bias. Another method to detect bias in news articles is Biasly’s News Check which helps uncover bias and reliability issues.