Solutions “Jimmy is 8 years old and a third-generation heroin addict, a precocious little boy with sandy hair, velvety brown eyes and needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin brown arms.” – Janet Cooke, Washington Post, September 29, 1980 Promoted by her Washington Post Editor, Bob Woodward, reporter Janet Cooke was nominated for [...]
December 25, 2009
To public officials, the role of the news business is obvious. We see the process of information shaping first hand, warts and all. But ask a journalist their perspective of their role, and the reaction will likely be different. A public official being openly critical of the news media is quickly spun by journalists to mean that reporters must being doing the right thing. Conversely, journalists keeping public officials on their toes is considered a noble, expected calling of the news business, one that media outlets use to promote upcoming news. The logic is fascinating.
December 11, 2009
How reporters are biased “In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs for ever and ever.” –Oscar Wilde Social psychologists have confirmed that cognition is an important ingredient in how information is perceived. They have found that perceptions can be swayed relatively easily by racial stereotypes, body language, facial expressions, previous bias [...]
December 4, 2009
The structure of the anointed “If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: ’President Can’t Swim.’” –Lyndon B. Johnson Part of the problem with the press is the constructed dichotomy wherein the self-appointed “watchdogs” believe themselves to be the most capable to fulfill [...]
November 27, 2009
How the news media manipulate news as a normal part of business “It’s a bizarre world where flacks are more vigilant than reporters when it comes to trying not to mislead readers.” – JOHN COOK, Gawker “The Spitzer Files: How the New York Times and the Press Serviced Client No. 9” The American Left’s favorite [...]
December 31, 2009