person of a certain race on the basis of racially observed characteristics or behavior, rather than on individual suspicion. Racial profiling is commonly referred to regarding its use by law enforcement, and its leading to discrimination against minorities. Victim blaming Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a wrongful act is held at fault for the harm that befell them. The study of victimology seeks to mitigate the perception of victims as responsible. Biases in media Media bias is the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events, the stories that are reported, and how they are covered. The term generally implies a pervasive or widespread bias violating the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. The level of media bias in different nations is debated. There are also watchdog groups that report on media bias. Practical limitations to media neutrality include the inability of journalists to report all available stories and facts, the requirement that selected facts be linked into a coherent narrative, government influence including overt and covert censorship, the influence of the owners of the news source, concentration of media ownership, the selection of staff, the preferences of an intended audience, and pressure from advertisers. Bias has been a feature of the mass media since its birth with the invention of the printing press. The expense of early printing equipment restricted media production to a limited number of people. Historians have found that publishers often served the interests of powerful social groups. Agenda setting Agenda setting describes the capacity of the media to focus on particular stories, if a news item is covered frequently and prominently, the audience will regard the issue as more important. That is, its salience will increase. Gatekeeping Gatekeeping is the way in which information and news are filtered to the public, by each person or corporation along the way. It is the "process of culling and crafting countless bits of information into the limited number of messages that reach people every day, and it is the center of the media's role in modern public life. [...] This process determines not only which information is selected, but also what the content and nature of the messages, such as news, will be." Sensationalism Sensationalism is when events and topics in news stories and pieces are overhyped to present