Thursday, February 03, 2005

Let's Define Media Spin For Those Who Are Confused

I have recieved several comments lately accusing me of spin. Obviously, the commenters don't understand what media spin is when reading an article or news report or, for that matter, political blogs. Media Spin is the distortion of recent events in the guise of an objective news report. Analysis of the news is OPINION not media spin. Just because an opinion appears in an Op Ed piece doesn't mean that it is spin. To be media spin, some distortion of commonly known facts about a current event has to take place in an Op Ed piece or news report or blog. I can have an opinion and state facts about an event without resorting to media spin tactics. I check my sources very carefully and I only comment on what I can prove independently from a wide variety of sources. If this constitutes spin in some people's minds, it is their failure to grasp the difference that is the problem. So it goes.

1 comment:

RFTR said...

I often have to make this argument as well, and you do a great job here.

Invariably people ask me, since I'm so sure that the MSM is liberally biased generally, what I think of Fox news. I respond that they are populated by conservatives, but that their news coverage is at least as fair as the liberal media.

The invariable response "But what about O'Reilly and Hannity?! They're completely biased!"

But what people never seem to realize is that their shows are commentary and analysis, not news reporting. You can't have commentary without analysis; news should never show the opinion of the reporter, yet often does.