Skewed: Decoding Media Bias by Caryn Franklin

Skewed: Decoding Media Bias Reviews

• 
  Bharath

  This is a very different (audio)book and it really maximizes the potential of the audio format. The subject is how bias sets in, based on what we are exposed to, and the content is backed by a lot of research and expert interviews.
  
  The authors start with the below quote by Daniel Kahneman, which is in many ways central to what the book covers:
  “A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth. Authoritarian institutions and marketers have always known this fact.”
  
  The second important aspect is that we are influenced by what we see and internalise certain norms – and this happens even when the viewing period is as short as <10 mins. The messaging need not be explicit and frequently is not. There are chapters devoted to views we acquire on - race, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, looks, height, gender, dress and age, among other things. There is increased proliferation of inputs via – news, movies, billboards & social media. These impact social and professional workplace behaviours. We tend to group traits as mainstream under one bucket and view others as exceptions (eg: in the west, being white is mainstream). Advertisers have always known the power of the mediums they use. The subtle messages chip away at the sense of self-love and assurance of certain groups of people.
  
  While some of the biases have acquired some focus in recent time, many have not (eg: ageism). The exposure is relentless through the day and countering this requires constant introspection & effort. The last section brings the various biases together in the complex ways we are exposed to them. On a positive note, the authors state that research shows that biases can be countered/de-activated (by being curious and using a magnifying glass on our ingrained views). Mindfulness literature, of course, covers methods in detail. Each of us need a personal media code with the recognition that humans are fallible and highly malleable. After all, bias simply makes us compliant to others’ views. Others, including advertisers, have no responsibility to educate us.
  
  The coverage is very detailed, and the audiobook is ~19.5 hours. The treatment is very sophisticated – it is less about obvious and blatant bias most people abhor, but rather views we acquire over time based on what we are exposed to. The overall context was very familiar to me, having read other behavioural/neuroscience/mindfulness books, but this book offers a fresh and comprehensive look at biases.
  
  A book I recommend to all – but you need to be willing to listen to a lot of detail. I do feel many sections could have been a lot crisper. The audio narration was good; but could have been a little better.
  
  My rating: 4.25 / 5.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the authors for a free review copy of the audiobook.
• 
  Sarah Faichney

  'Skewed' is a thoroughly interesting listen which plays with the traditional audiobook format. W. F. Howes has produced something more akin to a podcast, with some back and forth between presenters (Caryn Franklin and Professor Keon West) in addition to a wide range of interviews covering various topics. I found it extremely thought-provoking and imagine I will revisit sections again in future. Well worth a listen!
• 
  Becks

  An absolutely fantastic read on how the media and society at large are skewed by bias, across topics like fashion, Disney, aging. Deeply effective as an audiobook as it features interviews throughout. I think this could be a particularly good listen for young people building media literacy and critical thinking skills.
• 
  MrsB

  4.25*
  
  An audiobook/podcast creation split between Caryn Franklin MBE, Professor Keon West, and specialist guests covering 11 chapters/topics. This was a nice change of pace from my last few book choices, and provided an interesting discussion on what we can do better, and how to implement it. A brief summary of the chapter topics are below:
  
  Chapter 1 Not neutral at all - pretty little lies and lazy brains
  How stereotypes are created through familiarity of biased perception, how they become encoded/hard-wired. Hyper-visibility, dominant cultures, representation, pre-frontal cortex maturation in our mid-20s
  
  Chapter 2 Femmes - some THING rather than some one: commercial assault
  The way that the media underrepresents and cultivates harmful ideas about women and how it can sexualise and fuel toxic views about women as things/possessions, including how they can influence criminal justice in sexual assault trials
  
  Chapter 3 Masculinity - precarious masculinity
  Hyper-masculinity, stereotypes and the pressure for men to be ‘strong’ and at times violent, men being judged as ‘girls’, ‘boys not men’, or ‘gay’ for being vulnerable, increased suicide rates in men with strong beliefs in male stereotypes
  
  Chapter 4 Racialising blackness - the impact of nice white people’s racism
  Minstrels, golliwogs, blackface, racist fashion, race ignorance thinking, social mobility, representation, entrepreneurship, race representation in cartoons and video games, dehumanising black people, tokenism, institutionalised anti-blackness, in-group out-group bias, diverse groups enhancing learning and innovation, challenging racist behaviour/beliefs through anti-racist action
  
  Chapter 5 Racialising whiteness - white fear and the story of power
  Representation, the importance of recognising unconscious bias and racism, narcissistic exceptionalism, police interactions, glamourising physical ‘whiteness’, the problem with believing that ‘white’ is the default, how power can corrupt, fear of acknowledging our faults in regards to harmful cultural norms/beliefs
  
  Chapter 6 Beyond the binary - do or deviant
  Gender binary, androgyny, pronouns, gender expectations, policing gender identity, race and gender, childhood pressures due to gender conformity, anti-trans literature/media/beliefs, the benefits of gender diverse representation in the media, shame around sexuality, connectivity within minority communities
  
  Chapter 7 Sexual orientation
  Violence against non-heteronormative people, the importance of personal authenticity, the normalisation of anti-gay feelings through the media, activism and human rights
  
  Chapter 8 Appearance pressure
  Body shame in all shapes and sizes (diversity, disability, disfigurement, beauty ideals, cosmetic surgery, the power of clothes on our psyche
  
  Chapter 9 Old is gold
  Ageism, retirement, sexist views in ageing, fashion, the menopause, diversity of thought in intergenerational groups, ageist packaging, the impact of ageism on wellbeing, the male gaze, historical views on ageing influencing present day views, body positivity
  
  Chapter 10 Our Palaeolithic emotions
  Media evolution, information overwhelm, sex, sexual values and sexual behaviour, porn
  
  Chapter 11 Inspiration matters
  How we see ourselves, being aware of media bias, consuming diverse media, relearning/brain plasticity
• 
  Alanna-Jane

  4.5 stars.
  
  ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL LISTENING FOR ALL!
  
  Firstly, this audiobook sounds very much like a great podcast (without all of the hellos and goodbyes)! Long-time fashion producer Caryn Franklin and research psychologist + professor Keon West have used the audio format to their greatest advantage.
  
  WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
  * the absolutely essential tackling of this subject!
  * the fabulous use and range of audio.
  * the collaboration of the two authors' vastly different worldviews.
  * the way that chapters are broken down into specific aspects of skewed media, and then contained everything from personal anecdotes, to interviews from a a diverse range of humans, to collections of research studies to show how the relevant aspect of skewed media plays out throughout various parts of the world and its consequences on real people.
  * the inclusion of so much scientific data, as well as a look at the challenges of designing certain scientific studies.
  
  
  WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER:
  * could absolutely have been shorter.
  * Although this book was already absolutely long enough, I would have liked to have seen an even more diverse range of consequences on modern society (ie Indigenous, Asian, etc).
  * some of the studies cited were really old. I would have liked to know why: were they absolutely the best available on that particular subject? Was there nothing newer, done well? Did they have the biggest pool of subjects? Were they the most neutral?
  * I would have liked to see each chapter/subject wrapped up with a quick reiteration of the subject, what was looked at AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, any potential ways that the authors could see to reverse these effects. The summations would also have been extremely valuable in the longer chapters.
  
  Ultimately, I think that this audiobook is an INCREDIBLE and valuable addition to the discussion on how skewed the information that we take in everyday is, and how this skewed media alters everyone's worldview. Everyone should be ingesting all available media with these principles in mind. The continuation of this skewed media and ignorance by the vast majority of the general public creates a WORSENING of our culture every single day, especially for those who live in marginalized bodies (and minds).
  
  BASICALLY - GIVE THIS AUDIOBOOK A LISTEN, AND BECOME MORE AWARE OF WHERE YOU HAVE TAKEN ON THESE HARMFUL PERCEPTIONS AND JUDGEMENTS! KNOWING HOW SKEWED MEDIA IS CAN HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER, MORE INCLUSIVE PLACE FOR ALL.
  
  Huge gratitude to W.F. Howes Ltd and NetGalley for a free, advanced copy of this audiobook, in exchange for my honest review.
  
  
  
• 
  Janalyn

  This is more like a podcast in an audiobook and it covers everything from what we watch on TV how we think of what we watch on TV Disney movies how that makes us feel about our self rape assault body image self-esteem and much much more. Okay if I could just do a little aside here when I was a sophomore in college I went blind and at that time and still today I have psoriasis since then I’ve had 19 surgeries want to take my eye out and I feel like if I was a modern day girl I would still be at home crying about going blind and there would be so many things in life I would’ve missed out on. Now having said that that’s a lot I totally agreed with while listening to this audiobook like when they talked about the different term analogy of sexual assault how that affects us how what we see a Disney movies affect little children because everyone should be represented I totally believe that but there were many things I didn’t agree with so to give a star rating I would definitely give this a solid 3 1/2 stars S4 is narration goes it wasn’t a typically narrated book it was more like an ad lib. free-for-all. not to mention The head about half a dozen people who speak on the audiobook. So do I recommend it definitely because I know people take different things from advice and it may help some people. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
• 
  Laura Wheeler

  10th (audio)book of 2023
  ALC via NetGalley
  Very long but thorough. Mix of podcast w/interviews/convos (which I wasn't expecting) and scripted book. Tackles sexism, masculinity, racism, gender binarism, sexual orientation, body appearance, & ageism.
  This audiobook was much longer than I anticipated (clearly I didn't check the length when requesting it). I didn't realise it isn't based on a written book - that it's primary format is audiobook. But it felt like a podcast & audiobook mixed together. The interviews & conversations scattered throughout felt less clean & scripted (obviously) which made for a strange back & forth w/ the scripted "book". I wonder if it would have worked better as a shorter audiobook w/ just the scripted book. Then they could have created a related podcast to have the conversations and interviews there. The podcast might have driven folks to discover the book then.
  Great topics covered. It was obviously very thorough given the length. I appreciated the evidence-based research presented.
  Narrators did a nice job.
  I could see a teacher using sections of this for a variety of courses - another reason the podcast being a separate entity might be good.
  I'd have rated it 4 stars if I hadn't found myself noticing the length of the book & thinking "there's still that many hours to go with this?" as often as I did (despite finding the content good stuff!).
• 
  Tom Schulte

  Franklin works through this material with content partner
  Keon West in an approach that feels like binging an interesting podcast. Further taking full advantage of the possibilities of the audiobook format, guests are brought in and we have their voices, too:
  Michelle Elman,
  Juno Roche,
  Natasha Devon, etc. This keeps the audiobook engaging throughout. The media bias being explored here is on sexism (women treated as sex objects), ageism, gender expression, ableism, etc. Studies and data are brought in to make the cause of the harmful effect this has through the media with the media here being largely advertising and entertainment.
• 
  Rebekah Sagredo

  I loved this book because it used and cited credible academic sources and explained why it did that. It highlighted that the authors were discussing facts and not just personal and unsubstantiated observations.
  I also loved the juxtaposition of the white point of view and black point of view and the thoughtful reflection done by both authors. It made it seem like I was chatting with two friends about the topic of bias.
  I really liked the back and forth between useful stats and anecdotes.
  I thought the writing was very accessible for people who may not be well versed on the topic.
  My only negative feedback concerns the guests. Although, I really enjoyed the guests and think they added important perspectives, at times I felt like I was listening to a podcast rather than an audio book because of the constant fillers like "umm".
  I would definitely recommend to friends, colleagues, and students.
• 
  Lauren Baker

  I thought this was fantastic and really suited the format. I've never listened to anything delivered by multiple people like this other than separate episodes of a podcast. I hope there are more audiobooks like this in the future. It was like an extended podcast that I could dip in and out of, offering a nuanced exploration of media bias.
  
  I liked the inclusion of interviews rather than just referring to an expert's research. More than one contributor meant I didn't get bored of one person's voice and the change in delivery gave me more chance to reflect. I was initially concerned this might be aimed at academics studying media and while I think it would be very useful for such people, I was pleased to find it accessible while challenging my thinking and offering great insight too. A worthwhile listen! Thank you to the authors, publisher and NetGalley.
• 
  Claire

  I found this audiobook absolutely fascinating and have learnt so much.. The format is very much like a podcast, with guests and conversations as well as information presented by the authors. Their presenation skills are excellent and even make statistics sound interesting. I just wish I could remember all the information I've heard.
  
  The authors are incredibly honest about their own unconscious bias and how they have changed their opinions over the years. It allowed me to really look at myself and the media I have consumed. It shows you how to be aware of the messaging and imagery your consuming on a daily basis. It deals with really complex issues of race, sexuality, body image and so much more. A really important audiobook that I can not recommend enough.
• 
  Jess | dapper.reads

  This was such an interesting and enjoyable audio format! We’re talking biases and I was initially drawn to this book to see what it could add to the conversation of biases either in the media or personally. As a psychology student I read plenty about bias and the effects it has on the individual and society and I find it fascinating.
  
  This book did not disappoint. It was almost like listening to podcast. Well, a season of a podcast really which each chapter being it’s own episode. It’s was interesting and enlightening with conversation and remained respectful throughout.
  
  I’m definitely impressed. I’m incredibly thankful to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this.
  
  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• 
  Prerana Shah

  This was probably the most intense non fiction book I have listened to. It is heavy and has big topics. Some were worthy of discussions with family some were worth self discovery.
  
  Chapters of sex and body were very relatable to me whereas chapters of race were a bit more stretched I felt. Like any other non fiction book there were parts which felt repetitive in the middle.
  
  It is more like a podcast as there were interviews with people from different fields of life. The hosts were funny and witty. 19 hours is long but the topics covered justify the time.
  
  Thank you @tandemcollectiveuk for sending me a copy of the audiobook. #ad #prproduct
• 
  Katherine

  A great social commentary, ‘Skewed’ features not only the two authors, but several guest speakers that share their personal experiences on bias in the media, in society at large, and in our personal spheres. Though, the book is very information dense, it is entertaining and informative. Authors personal experiences help to make the material more relatable and bridge the information between chapters. A valuable listen for those interested in sociology, psychology, or a career that involves worthiness with other people (aka- anyone).
• 
  Anne Jisca

  I like audiobooks as they are edited, polished, professional, final products on a subject. This audio is not that. It is a combination of narration, mixed with a lot of podcast-like interviews. If you like that more casual format, that’s great! For myself, it was a very long listen, as it is not my preferred format.
  
  This could never be turned into a physical book. It relies entirely on its podcast interviews (over the phone).
  
  Some of them spoke slow, some faster. Since it switched often, it made it tricky to find the right speed to listen to this.
• 
  Steph

  This was a well researched book about different biases we find in media and how it affects our views of others, our view of ourselves and ultimately how we treat those around us. The authors, and their guests, went into detail about ways to recognize and combat these biases, which I found to be very informative. I liked the idea of an audiobook that combined narration and podcast interviews, but I found it to be a little jarring. It was hard to find a good speed to listen to the book and some of the podcast parts could have been condensed down.
• 
  Books Over People

  Thanks to Net Galley for this audiobook. This book, while not perfect, as admitted but the writers, still earns five stars from me because it begins the conversation that we all need to have. The audio version, which has cut away interviews with experts and follow-up conversations with the writers makes this essentially an audio-documentary more than a book. I could easily design a whole class around this book.
• 
  Hannah Chapman

  Discusses how bias sets in based on what we are exposed to. It’s an incredible listen(audio book) and really opens your eyes to subtle but HUGE influences all around us. From Disney to cheese adverts to the obvious media. I massively enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone.
  It’s quite a lengthy read at times is quite detailed and I think some chapters could have been less heavy but ultimately loved it.
• 
  Lauren Couchman

  This audiobook was very interesting and eye opening. It certainly got me thinking about many different aspects of life. The audiobook was quite long but the chapters were good bite size chunks which were easier to digest.
• 
  Anna

  This book is fascinating. For anyone looking to learn more about the male gaze and the objectification of humans in the media, this book cannot be missed.
• 
  Min

  From Disney films, to adverts, to accompanying psychological experiments, Skewed looks at unconscious bias and how it is impacted by our media consumption.
  
  This audiobook was more like a podcast than a book and is only available as an audiobook; but its very easy to listen to. The authors interviewed different figures that could add insight to their specialism.
  
  I am very passionate about DE&I, so am quite self educated on important humanitarian topics, but this audiobook added unique points of view for me. Reading this with a lovely bunch of people made this book more interesting so we could discuss whilst reading along. One of my favourite parts of the book was the accompanying experiments and the shocking results. There were also ones which we tried on friends and relatives. The book gave me lots of talking points with the people in my life and I really recommend this as a great way to initiate conversations on interesting but sometimes difficult topics.
• 
  Jordan

  'Skewed' by Caryn Franklin and Professor Keon West is a sweeping look at how the choices we make with our media consumption, and the choices we don't make with our advertising consumption, can give us impressions that we don't even know we have. From sexism to agism there seem to be commonly held 'truths' that underpin what we see on a daily basis that the authors want us to question.
  
  In terms of medium I have to say I didn't enjoy the loose, long-podcast feel of this audiobook. Chapters are either one or the other of the authors relaying information and introducing a topic in a slightly stilted manner, or interviews with guests that sound like podcast interviews and don't have that narrative tightness that you get with scripted interviews. I found it difficult to concentrate on the subject at hand with the authors gushing about how (truly) amazing their guests are and asking slightly leading questions.
  
  The content itself is a good overview of the way bias can shape our perceptions, but I think there are other books that look at each of these perceptions (race, age, beauty etc) in more depth and with much more nuance. There isn't much balance to the book and political opinions are frequently given assuming that the listener has those same opinions and without much discussion of why people may think differently. The authors frequently give examples of biased media and then say 'I know one example isn't enough' and then leave it there.
  
  There were a few good points made by the authors but I feel that those nuggets don't make up for the loose format of the audiobook and attempt to make a general overview of a small selection of media seem like a complete review of all media.