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The news media is there to provide the masses with factual information about what’s happening in the world, but as you’ve no doubt realized, it doesn’t always seem like that. Often it feels as if reporters deliberately spin a story a certain way in order to make it more sensational, regardless of whether there’s actually any truth behind it or not, and this comic summarizes that process perfectly. In these turbulent times when it’s not always easy to know just who and what to believe, it serves to remind us that everything should be taken with just the slightest pinch of salt!
More info: SMBC
Image credits: SMBC
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What do you think ?
John L Kelly 7 years ago
This is exactly why I call them the "Whore Media". And the worst part is that we are totally unable to receive sexual pleasure from them, unlike the other group.
DE Ray 7 years ago
Yes, there is pressure to sensationalize to some degree- readers don't want something that doesn't excite them in the least- but for me, a bigger problem is the lack of science literacy among reporters and the audiences they are reporting to. If I ran a story about a possible future treatment for cancer, detailing that 10 percent of anomalous cells in a rat's tail were eliminated, probably only 10 percent of my readers would actually finish the article. At least 10 percent of those wouldn't understand it. And I probably wouldn't understand the results fully myself unless the scientist I was talking to broke it down Barney-style (my degree is in political science, not physical sciences, and journalism involves an entirely different skill set). And I would be more likely to understand than half of reporters, whose education in journalism only required one "science for non-scientists" course in college. Don't blame the media when the problem is general lack of science literacy.
Littoface 7 years ago
A journalist's job should be to understand and condense news into readable pieces, not to dumb things down into a clickbait article. These days it's even worse since many interbet journos want to post things as quickly as possible, so half don't even read the source material. It's a rehash of a rehash and the truth gets lost domewhere in between. (I am not just a bystander, I'm a freelance writer; I've seen it firsthand.)
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Nancy E 7 years ago
The media needs shaming . Their low poll ratings are higher than they deserve. One of their main tactics is ' omission.' If something disagree with their own out look, they just don't report it , or, under report it. If something agrees with their philosophy , they sensationalize it.
John L Kelly 7 years ago
This is exactly why I call them the "Whore Media". And the worst part is that we are totally unable to receive sexual pleasure from them, unlike the other group.
DE Ray 7 years ago
Yes, there is pressure to sensationalize to some degree- readers don't want something that doesn't excite them in the least- but for me, a bigger problem is the lack of science literacy among reporters and the audiences they are reporting to. If I ran a story about a possible future treatment for cancer, detailing that 10 percent of anomalous cells in a rat's tail were eliminated, probably only 10 percent of my readers would actually finish the article. At least 10 percent of those wouldn't understand it. And I probably wouldn't understand the results fully myself unless the scientist I was talking to broke it down Barney-style (my degree is in political science, not physical sciences, and journalism involves an entirely different skill set). And I would be more likely to understand than half of reporters, whose education in journalism only required one "science for non-scientists" course in college. Don't blame the media when the problem is general lack of science literacy.
Littoface 7 years ago
A journalist's job should be to understand and condense news into readable pieces, not to dumb things down into a clickbait article. These days it's even worse since many interbet journos want to post things as quickly as possible, so half don't even read the source material. It's a rehash of a rehash and the truth gets lost domewhere in between. (I am not just a bystander, I'm a freelance writer; I've seen it firsthand.)
Load More Replies... Nancy E 7 years ago
The media needs shaming . Their low poll ratings are higher than they deserve. One of their main tactics is ' omission.' If something disagree with their own out look, they just don't report it , or, under report it. If something agrees with their philosophy , they sensationalize it.
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