How is it possible for the person of average intelligence to determine whether or not what they hear in the media is true and accurate? I have often wondered just how much control the government has over the media and what they can reasonably present to the public.
Not only that, but you also need to worry about the agenda itself: Why is this story getting more headlines than that story when the second story is clearly more significant, why is this story not being reported in that country at all and over-reported in another country, why are they reporting this angle on a story to the detriment of other angles, why are they totally ignoring this valid perspective……etc, etc, etc.
Manipulation, dude. Ugly, innit ?
Classic case is, of course, something like the Globalisation debate where public debate is somewhat hampered by a media owned by……global organizations. Opps ! Tricky……
Fwiw, I do think the Internet has been a huge boon in informing public opinion and debate. Best news sources on any given subject vary but I’d suggest building up a favourites folder by topic / subject. Thus, for example, on the middle east:
Look under web links (right hand side, drop down menu) and keep the links that look like offering a variety of perspectives
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_the_palestinians/
- in truth, it can be hard work to keep yourself ‘informed’, but it’s better than being manipulated, IMHO.
I think the other thing I’d say is to imagine every news source is like a used car salesman; they all have an angle to sell and for a reason (a vested interest somewhere). The key is to understand not what they’re saying but why they’re saying it - in media, it’s usually connected with exerting influence over Government.
Can you offer some more specific questions in an effort to narrow things down?
For instance, when it comes to a 20 second medical story you see on the nightly news, you can assume that it’s probably quite wrong because it’s lacking in detail.
When it comes to what somebody said at a news conference, you can assume that it’s dead on exact.
And I can tell you for a fact that the government has no control over what I put on TV news (I work for a national network north of the border). They may have some influence, but only over the day’s agenda-- that’s what spin doctors do. There is somewhat of a herd mentality in terms of what news organizations cover on a daily basis (Do we cover the countdown to Iraq, or seniors who can’t afford prescriptions), but that’s as far as it goes.
I read lots of news from as many sources as I can. What I find most surprising is the stories covered in Europe that get little or no mention in the US.