Evaluate the prevalence of media bias in the press regarding the essay writing industry.

The essay writing industry is a phenomenon that originated in the 19th century with essay mills that were located in fraternity houses to help individuals with their studies (Stavisky, 1973). However, in the years since students first accessed the services of writers who would produce term papers and essays, the industry has grown exponentially. As a result of the adoption of an accessible e-commerce model, the essay writing industry is now populated by hundreds of companies that are based in various locations around the world (Brady & Dutta, 2012). It has also attracted increasing attention as a result. There has been distinct bias placed upon the industry by academics, such as Martin’s (1993, p. 36) declaration that it constitutes “institutionalized plagiarism”. However, it can also be argued that there has also been significant bias against the industry in the media too. This essay will examine a range of articles that have been published in British newspapers and their websites and critically evaluate their content in order to assess how far bias is prevalent in each one. This will be done with a view to concluding that the prevalence of media bias relating to custom essay writing within the press is extremely high and almost wholly negative. Although the occurrence of articles about the industry as a whole are infrequent, those that are published are innately biased with very few statements that actually offer a balance to the negativity directed towards the industry.

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A search of newspaper archives reveals that the essay writing industry is a focus for the press at distinct intervals, with articles published in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2014 with very little in between. Taking 2007 first, The Guardian published an article in April of that year in specific reference to an individual company rather than taking a look at the industry as a whole. The implication is that the company in question is indicative of the industry and therefore of its morals and integrity but the approach taken by Shepherd and Tobin (2007) is relatively broad and attempts to cover all aspects of the industry, from the writers to the companies to the universities. In effect, this approach does limit the prevalence of media bias in the article in theory. Its tone remains factual throughout and it relies heavily on quotes to convey its point. For example, the owner of one custom essay company is quoted as saying "[o]ur message is clear to all students. Come and use us, but use us properly like any other source and then go and write your own piece," (Shepherd & Tobin, 2007). However, this is countered by a quote from Dr Laurie Friday, the Cambridge secretary of the board of graduate studies: "We see [custom essay companies] as a deliberate attempt to undermine the academic integrity of this and other universities” (Shepherd & Tobin, 2007). The contrast is stark and the reader does not seem to be guided either way at first glance. As such, the level of media bias can be perceived as minimal in this context. However, there are instances that contradict this conclusion within the article.