Can You Trust the News Media?

. SPIN. Even if facts are as solid as bricks, how they are presented  on the judgment of the journalist. what facts should be included in a story, and which should be left out? A soccer team, for example, may have lost a match by two goals. That is a fact. But why he team lost is a tale that a journalist can tell in many  ways.

. OMISSION. In arranging facts to create a compelling story, journa;ost often exclude details that would introduce complications or unresolved issues. Tis causes some facts to be exaggerated and others to be diminished.Because television anchors and reporters may sometimes need to tell a complex story in a minute or so, important details can be skipped.

. COMPETITION. In recent decades, as the numberof television stations multiplied. the amount of time viewers spent watching just one station fell drastically. To keep viewers interested, news stations were compelled to offer something unique or entertaining. Commenting on this development, the book Media Bias states: "The [television] news became a running picture show, with images selected to shock or titillate, and stories shortened to match an [ever-shorter] attention span on the part of viewers.  

Next time: Can You Trust the News Media?

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