Bias In The News - The Death Of Billy Mays

Bias In The News

Billy Mays

Article 1 Autopsy: Cocaine Contributed To Billy Mays’ Death

In this article, Billy Mays’ death is said to be his own fault. There is bias in the headline suggesting that Mays used cocaine, and was therefore a bad person. Further, it is reported that he had last used the drug in the few days prior to his death, as well as various prescription painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs. The bias behind these facts gives the reader the impression that Billy Mays was a “druggie”. The article goes on to explain the heart condition that caused Mays' death, and how that condition is very similar to several caused by prolonged cocaine use. A spokeswoman is quoted as not being able to indicate the frequency of his cocaine use, but does state that although he was not under its influence at the time of his death, Mays had used cocaine in the few days prior to his heart failure. The article also includes information about other prescription drugs such as therapeutic amounts of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam, which also suggests to the reader that Billy Mays may have had a drug use problem.

Article 2 Billy Mays Dies After US Airways Flight — Is There a Link?

In the second article, a TV news reporter is blaming the death on an airline. The author is suggesting that Billy Mays' death was caused  by an emergency landing on a US Airways flight the day before he was found dead. During this rough landing, carry-on baggage from the luggage racks came loose and a piece of it hit Mays on the head. Although none of the passengers or crew were injured, this article seems to suggest that Mays being hit on the head may have something to do with his passing. There isn't much evidence to back it up but the airway reports that he was not wearing his seat belt when the airplane's front tires blew out. Is US Air to blame for faulty equipment?

Article 3 Legendary Pitchman Billy Mays' Death Today Leaves Fans, Friends Stunned

The last article says that Billy Mays' death was a very unfortunate event, but points no fingers. It talks about how he became an internationally known celebrity because of his energetic infomercials and well known products, and expresses a lot of remorse over the death of this legend. The article interviews Mays' longtime business partner and good friend Anthony Sullivan as he gives highlights of Mays' career and reminisces over good times, and is quoted as saying that Mays was "the best friend a man could wish for - he was much more than people knew". The article makes the reader feel sad about Billy's death and sorry for the loss his friends, family, and fans experienced with his death.

10 To See Before You Croak.

1. http://www.facebook.com
"Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life."
This site helps you keep in touch and up to date with friends and family and any other people in your life, through messaging, instant chat, status updates, picture uploading, and information profiles. You can also can find out about current news and events, both locally and globally. On Facebook there are games you can play, fan pages and groups about pretty much anything you can think of, and quizzes ranging from the mundane to the ridiculous.

2. http://www.youtube.com
"Broadcast Yourself"
YouTube is a video sharing website onto which users can upload and view videos files online, for free. On this site videos containing practically any content are available to anybody with an Internet-able computer. In addition to hosting videos, the service lets users rate videos, add comments, and subscribe to their favorite producers. Registration is free; it is not required to view videos, but you do need to register for some features. You can find videos on YouTube in one of many ways; you can search by keyword, browse by topic, or you can just scan the list of the most popular videos at that time.

3. http://www.dragulator.com
"Become a drag superstar. Let the Dragulator take you from ZERO TO FABULOUS!"
On this funky site, you can find out what you (or any body else you can get your hands on a picture of...) would look like in drag. Once you're done "dragifying" your image with hair, makeup, lips, and fabulous dresses and accessories, you can download and save your creation to your computer or you can upload it onto Facebook, Twitter, or email it to a friend.

4. http://www.google.ca
"Search"
Google is currently probably the most popular Internet search engine. When using Google, you can look up information in many different languages (and translate between them), post ads, check sports scores, find news headlines, and research pretty much anything you can think of. Google allows you to search images, websites, videos, blogs, maps, books, stock quotes and much, much more. This search engine gives a user access to virtually any information with a simple click of the mouse.

5. http://www.ebay.ca
"Shop Victoriously"
This site is a global Internet Marketplace, on which people from all over the world buy and sell items. There are thousands of buying categories, from antique collectibles to real estate and used cars to kitchen wares. You can even buy a "detailed Email reading from a Psychic Clairvoyant" (if that's what flips your pancake)

6. http://www.wikipedia.com
"The Free Encyclopedia"
Wikipedia is an online free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit and contribute to. This encyclopedia site is multilingual, free, and usually a very worldly source of information concerning, again, just about any topic you can think of. Since anybody can edit any article, it is possible for biased, out-of-date, or incorrect information to be posted. However, since there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. Thus, the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is quite high.

7. http://www.tvduck.com
"Watch all your favourite TV shows online for FREE!"
TVduck.com offers numerous free working links to most TV shows. Featuring a Top 100 list of both popular TV shows and Internet videos, with streaming of full length episodes online, as well as options to rate, comment on, and upload your own Internet videos or links.

8. http://www.flickr.com
"Share your photos. Watch The World"
This site is community-based and allows users to create profiles and upload, tag, and organize their photos to share with friends, family, and the world wide web. It also has groups so users can share photos about similar topics, themes, or concepts. Amateur photographers can show off their work; on Flickr, outstanding photographs rise to the top by achieving recognition from other Flickr users who make comments, post blog entries, and cause the photos to become part of the "most popular" lists.

9. http://www.blogger.com
"Create Your Free Blog"
This site allows users to write about whatever topic they wish and it is published to the web for the world to see. They can create their own personal blogs for any use they choose, such as informational, personal, for school or work, etc. It offers an easy way to collaborate, discuss, or share your thoughts with others, and it's free!

10. http://www.designshard.com
"Design & Inspiration"
Design Shard is a site containing valuable resource for designers ranging from design tips, inspiration and free resources such as photoshop brushes or textures to be downloaded. It offers tutorial videos on photoshop effects and other design and illustration skills, as well as lists of current design trends from websites to T-shirts. They also have free backgrounds and image archives for personal or web design use, such as Twitter backgrounds and templates for personal blogs/sites.

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Top in 2010

Most/Least Likely To...

Grad Bio's 

Staff

Custodians

Dances

Quotes

Grand March

Maybe the theme should be the same as the theme for Grad ceremonies? (Masquerade) 

:)