Although much of the media in the West claims to be impartial, liberal, free and objective, in reality it is biased, subjective, illiberal, insensitive and intolerant, although often not politically controlled. One sense in which the media is biased has to do with Orientalist assumptions underlying media images of Islam. In this sense, the media in many Muslim and other Third World countries is also biased. Orientalist stereotypes and misconceptions regarding Islam have often been internalized by non-Europeans and Americans. This includes Muslims themselves. On the other hand, it is also true that there is no such thing as nonperspectival reporting. That being the case, what then is meant by objective reporting, if that is possible at all? This paper reflects on these questions.
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