Last year, I wrote the following letter to the editor. It was not published. I post it now because I want to address the methods used by newspapers to influence public opinion. Here is that letter:
Every news organization is bias to one extent or another. Among other ways, one can recognize their biases by the headline used and/or the emphasis of the material in the story as well as what material is actually used.
Recently, I wrote a letter to the editor. The headline read "Moderate politics confusing." Moderate politics are not confusing; political labels as used today are wrong. Support of the murder of unborn children and homosexuality as a civil right are not liberal (the actual news story used the word moderate but that is so asinine I refuse to use that term); they are libertine. Belief in the right to life and marriage as a compact between a man and a woman are not neoconservative; they are moderate.
On 9/24/04 the Journal Star carried a front page story by the Associated Press dealing with the Iraqi Prime Minister coming to the United States. Thirteen paragraphs into the story, below the fold, on the eighth page; the article told of the Prime Minister's speech before Congress as he said "thank you" to the American people for saving Iraq. Powerful! Did Charles de Gaulle appear before Congress and thank us for saving France? Was it hidden on the eighth page below the fold?
I moved to Morton about three and one half months ago. I can already recognize the political biases of the staff of the Journal Star.
This is a brief synopsis of the process used by newspapers. (It has been a while since I learned this so it may not be 100% accurate but in general it is correct.) Every day literally hundreds of stories are or could be available for a newspaper to print. The Peoria Journal Star seems to get a majority of their national and international stories from the Associated Press. Every day the Associated Press offers the Journal Star hundreds of stories to choose from. Every day the Associated Press does not write about hundreds of stories that could have been written. Here is the first editing of what is news. If it is not offered by the Associated Press, the Journal Star is not going to print it as a general rule.
Furthermore, the Journal Star is not going to print every story offered by the Associated Press. They select the ones they have determined to be news worthy. (More of the disqualification process.) Thus, we had the selection a few days ago of an eating contest being a nationally selected story. They also select the local and state stories that will be printed; not every story available will make the news. How many stories have you read about the good being done in Iraq because U.S. troops have liberated the country?
Continuing the process, the original reporter edits the material and influences the direction of the story he is writing since seldom can all the material gathered be printed. Then, most stories get edited by an editor to fill the appropriate space and sometimes to provide the selected facts that the editors want to be presented. Then, people in the newspaper business know that other variables come into play in the actual printing of the paper.
Recently I asked a college educated, intelligent person this question. "If you were the subject of a news story would you want it printed above the fold of the paper or below the fold?" She said she didn't know. The answer is above the fold. It is more likely to be read. She said she thought that was the answer but she hadn't been sure. You can be certain that newspaper people know this.
Examples of variables that influence the news presented include the headline itself. Editors know that sometimes people only read the headline. A misleading headline that could have been clarified in the body of the story isn't because the reader stopped at the headline. Also, the facts of the story most likely to be read are in the first paragraph (or first few paragraphs). People stop reading a story before the conclusion of that story. Material can be buried toward the end of the story and some people will never read that far. As said above, material above the fold will more likely be read than below the fold. And on it goes.
The importance of all this is the influence a paper can have in a community when the paper has a monopoly or near monopoly in the distribution of the printed news and therefore control of the distribution of information. They determine what is news and what is not news. They determie the facts presented and the facts not presented. They determine what are the facts. They have some control over your flow of information and the information you have to make informed decisions.
A case in point was in today's newspaper. The headline was "Group praises ruling on pill." The story was about the decision in Illinois on how to regulate the distribution of an abortion pill. Of course, it is not referred to as an abortion pill but as an emergency contraception pill. If you repeat a lie often enough, some people start to believe it. Their impeccable source for this story and the group referred to in the story is Planned Murderhood. The article even lists telephone numbers where one can receive abortion pills if necessary.
Our fine newspaper in action continuing its support for the murder of unborn babies!
Every news organization is bias to one extent or another. Among other ways, one can recognize their biases by the headline used and/or the emphasis of the material in the story as well as what material is actually used.
Recently, I wrote a letter to the editor. The headline read "Moderate politics confusing." Moderate politics are not confusing; political labels as used today are wrong. Support of the murder of unborn children and homosexuality as a civil right are not liberal (the actual news story used the word moderate but that is so asinine I refuse to use that term); they are libertine. Belief in the right to life and marriage as a compact between a man and a woman are not neoconservative; they are moderate.
On 9/24/04 the Journal Star carried a front page story by the Associated Press dealing with the Iraqi Prime Minister coming to the United States. Thirteen paragraphs into the story, below the fold, on the eighth page; the article told of the Prime Minister's speech before Congress as he said "thank you" to the American people for saving Iraq. Powerful! Did Charles de Gaulle appear before Congress and thank us for saving France? Was it hidden on the eighth page below the fold?
I moved to Morton about three and one half months ago. I can already recognize the political biases of the staff of the Journal Star.
This is a brief synopsis of the process used by newspapers. (It has been a while since I learned this so it may not be 100% accurate but in general it is correct.) Every day literally hundreds of stories are or could be available for a newspaper to print. The Peoria Journal Star seems to get a majority of their national and international stories from the Associated Press. Every day the Associated Press offers the Journal Star hundreds of stories to choose from. Every day the Associated Press does not write about hundreds of stories that could have been written. Here is the first editing of what is news. If it is not offered by the Associated Press, the Journal Star is not going to print it as a general rule.
Furthermore, the Journal Star is not going to print every story offered by the Associated Press. They select the ones they have determined to be news worthy. (More of the disqualification process.) Thus, we had the selection a few days ago of an eating contest being a nationally selected story. They also select the local and state stories that will be printed; not every story available will make the news. How many stories have you read about the good being done in Iraq because U.S. troops have liberated the country?
Continuing the process, the original reporter edits the material and influences the direction of the story he is writing since seldom can all the material gathered be printed. Then, most stories get edited by an editor to fill the appropriate space and sometimes to provide the selected facts that the editors want to be presented. Then, people in the newspaper business know that other variables come into play in the actual printing of the paper.
Recently I asked a college educated, intelligent person this question. "If you were the subject of a news story would you want it printed above the fold of the paper or below the fold?" She said she didn't know. The answer is above the fold. It is more likely to be read. She said she thought that was the answer but she hadn't been sure. You can be certain that newspaper people know this.
Examples of variables that influence the news presented include the headline itself. Editors know that sometimes people only read the headline. A misleading headline that could have been clarified in the body of the story isn't because the reader stopped at the headline. Also, the facts of the story most likely to be read are in the first paragraph (or first few paragraphs). People stop reading a story before the conclusion of that story. Material can be buried toward the end of the story and some people will never read that far. As said above, material above the fold will more likely be read than below the fold. And on it goes.
The importance of all this is the influence a paper can have in a community when the paper has a monopoly or near monopoly in the distribution of the printed news and therefore control of the distribution of information. They determine what is news and what is not news. They determie the facts presented and the facts not presented. They determine what are the facts. They have some control over your flow of information and the information you have to make informed decisions.
A case in point was in today's newspaper. The headline was "Group praises ruling on pill." The story was about the decision in Illinois on how to regulate the distribution of an abortion pill. Of course, it is not referred to as an abortion pill but as an emergency contraception pill. If you repeat a lie often enough, some people start to believe it. Their impeccable source for this story and the group referred to in the story is Planned Murderhood. The article even lists telephone numbers where one can receive abortion pills if necessary.
Our fine newspaper in action continuing its support for the murder of unborn babies!
posted by Christian Gunslinger at 12:43 AM
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