3 ms·

I think the GP is referring to a tendency to promote a certain ideology under the guise of news, versus engaging in objective journalism.

akama 12y ago
The editorials are really heavy handed about that, however I've never thought that the news was any more influenced then any other news source.
- zorrb 12y ago
  To be fair, I thought the point of an editorial was for the author to express their opinion. [1] [1] From dictionary.com: 'Editorial definition, an article in a newspaper or other periodical or on a website presenting the opinion of the publisher, writer, or editor'
  - unclebucknasty 12y ago
    I think the difference would be a paper that features editorials which present a diversity of views versus one that seems to editorialize consistently in support of a particular ideology.
xux 12y ago
Isn't that most news organizations these days? There's no arrangement of facts that is completely neutral. You have to lean one way.
- unclebucknasty 12y ago
  >Isn't that most news organizations these days? Seems so. But, I think it's a question of relative degree. For instance, the comment to which I was responding seemed to take exception to the WSJ comparison with Fox News. That's a tacit acknowledgment of a certain belief about Fox News and their degree of bias. >There's no arrangement of facts that is completely neutral. You have to lean one way. Well, the phrase "arrangement of facts" is a bit loaded in that it suggests a manipulation of facts, so given that premise, yeah, the objective would seemingly be to "lean". However, I don't see any reason that the mere presentation of facts must lean in any direction. But, maybe it's just a testament to how far gone we are in this age of infotainment that it's hard to even imagine that facts can be presented without bias.
  - Portan 12y ago
    Without arrangement and bias, journalism would have no value. Searching for a random word on Google will give you a pile of facts but it's not interesting. People want to read something interesting to them. So it must be biased in a way they'll be interested in. Whether that's "dodgy company gets its comeuppance", "my favourite party does something good" or "person dies in an accident".
    - unclebucknasty 12y ago
      >Without arrangement and bias, journalism would have no value. I don't know about that. Truth is stranger than fiction and there's plenty of interesting information to be had. Editorializing and slant can be juicy, but good writing/presentation is timeless. Likewise, curating and clearly presenting information of interest has tremendous value to many; potentially even more so when it's clear that there is no bias. >"dodgy company gets its comeuppance", "my favourite party does something good" or "person dies in an accident". Those could just as easily be fact-based reporting on topics of broad interest. No bias is needed in delivering such factual content to make it more compelling. For instance, replace those "headlines" with: "Facebook loses court challenge over privacy violations" "Republican party donates clothes to shelter" "Princess Diana dies in car accident"
- shkkmo 12y ago
  That may be most news organizations these days. You may not be able to completely escape some sort of bias. However I think this is usually used as a cop out for news organizations failing uterly at doing their jobs. There is a big difference between subtle bias when clearly reporting the facts and deliberately pandering to and riling up your customers based on their preconceptions. There is a big difference between going into a story to find and present facts with as little of your own bias a possible, and going into a story with the direct intent of finding a way to spin it to satisfy your audience in boost sales.

akama 12y ago

The editorials are really heavy handed about that, however I've never thought that the news was any more influenced then any other news source.

zorrb 12y ago
To be fair, I thought the point of an editorial was for the author to express their opinion. [1] [1] From dictionary.com: 'Editorial definition, an article in a newspaper or other periodical or on a website presenting the opinion of the publisher, writer, or editor'
- unclebucknasty 12y ago
  I think the difference would be a paper that features editorials which present a diversity of views versus one that seems to editorialize consistently in support of a particular ideology.

xux 12y ago

Isn't that most news organizations these days? There's no arrangement of facts that is completely neutral. You have to lean one way.

unclebucknasty 12y ago
>Isn't that most news organizations these days? Seems so. But, I think it's a question of relative degree. For instance, the comment to which I was responding seemed to take exception to the WSJ comparison with Fox News. That's a tacit acknowledgment of a certain belief about Fox News and their degree of bias. >There's no arrangement of facts that is completely neutral. You have to lean one way. Well, the phrase "arrangement of facts" is a bit loaded in that it suggests a manipulation of facts, so given that premise, yeah, the objective would seemingly be to "lean". However, I don't see any reason that the mere presentation of facts must lean in any direction. But, maybe it's just a testament to how far gone we are in this age of infotainment that it's hard to even imagine that facts can be presented without bias.
- Portan 12y ago
  Without arrangement and bias, journalism would have no value. Searching for a random word on Google will give you a pile of facts but it's not interesting. People want to read something interesting to them. So it must be biased in a way they'll be interested in. Whether that's "dodgy company gets its comeuppance", "my favourite party does something good" or "person dies in an accident".
  - unclebucknasty 12y ago
    >Without arrangement and bias, journalism would have no value. I don't know about that. Truth is stranger than fiction and there's plenty of interesting information to be had. Editorializing and slant can be juicy, but good writing/presentation is timeless. Likewise, curating and clearly presenting information of interest has tremendous value to many; potentially even more so when it's clear that there is no bias. >"dodgy company gets its comeuppance", "my favourite party does something good" or "person dies in an accident". Those could just as easily be fact-based reporting on topics of broad interest. No bias is needed in delivering such factual content to make it more compelling. For instance, replace those "headlines" with: "Facebook loses court challenge over privacy violations" "Republican party donates clothes to shelter" "Princess Diana dies in car accident"
shkkmo 12y ago
That may be most news organizations these days. You may not be able to completely escape some sort of bias. However I think this is usually used as a cop out for news organizations failing uterly at doing their jobs. There is a big difference between subtle bias when clearly reporting the facts and deliberately pandering to and riling up your customers based on their preconceptions. There is a big difference between going into a story to find and present facts with as little of your own bias a possible, and going into a story with the direct intent of finding a way to spin it to satisfy your audience in boost sales.