Media

I was reminded today that one of the subjects that get me on my soap box is the way the media treats the "news".

1. Playing word games with editorials - Some, many, pundits seem to believe that their editorials or opinion pieces are their personal playground. That they don't have to meet the same standards of journalism as we were taught in school. At least taught when I was a student. For instance this Fisking of Krugman or this one of Bob Herbert also of the Times.
   
2. Treating news articles as editorial - Many reporters feel that their news reports are really their very own opinion piece and play the same games with the way they report the "news" as pundits with their editorials. For instance this NY Times report on Geraldo in New Orleans or this one of Starbucks impoverishing students from the Washington Post.
3. Reporters who don't understand what they are reporting on and just print what they believe. Here is one trying to address the idea of Peak Oil and getting the economics miserably wrong.
   
4. "News" articles that "report" just that part of a story that makes their view look better - This article from Reuters that I found on Yahoo Science news purports to report that global warming can't be tied to Katrina and Rita. However most of the article is about how some "think" it is or that it "may be". There have been many blog postings like this one over the weekend that showed how the news reports on last weekends anti-war protests were at the least very poor reporting if not outright propaganda. Or this one that tells the truth about an anti-war activist that has been protesting with signs claiming to be a Republican when he isn't.

I was discussing this with a colleague today who majored in journalism and she thinks that this is more of a case of the news trying to give their customer want they want as it is good business. While I believe there is some of that, I believe more of it is based on those many journalism graduates since Watergate that are out to "change the world" and make it "better". Of course "better" is in the eye of the beholder.