Media bias rarely announces itself. It lives in which facts get foregrounded and which get buried, in whether a protest is described as "demonstrators" or "rioters," in whether an economic policy is framed as "investment" or "spending." The first step to spotting it is learning to read not just what an article says, but how it says it — and what it chooses not to say at all.

Start with the framing choices. Read the headline and opening paragraph, then ask: whose perspective is centred? Who gets to speak, and in what order? Articles on the same event can present identical facts in entirely different emotional registers. A story about rising unemployment that leads with government statistics frames the issue bureaucratically. The same story leading with a laid-off worker's account frames it humanly. Both are accurate. Neither is neutral. The word choices, the sequencing of quotes, and the selection of experts all signal where the coverage is coming from — and what conclusions it's steering you toward.

Next, look for what's missing. Bias by omission is often more powerful than bias by commission. If a piece on immigration policy quotes only law enforcement officials and policy analysts, the absence of immigrant voices is itself a framing choice. If a financial news piece reports record corporate profits without mentioning wage growth (or stagnation), that omission shapes the story's meaning as much as what's included. A useful exercise: after reading any article, ask yourself who would have told this story differently, and why.

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