Don't Believe It: How Lies Become News Review

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Don't Believe It: How Lies Become News ReviewMany of us have noticed how instead of news, we get more and more sensationalism, opinions, staged news, and complete hoaxes. We see a few accusations of a "liberal" or a "conservative" media. But that misses the point; what we really have is a lying media. A media for which truth has become an enemy rather than a value. Of course, ratings are the goal, and truth may well interfere with that goal, at least in the short term. And we see some folks even claim that truth is just relative anyway (and only in the eye of the beholder). But it isn't. There is such a thing as honest and accurate reporting. And we consumers need to have a way to say so, objectively, when we're not getting that.
I think people of all political persuasions need to read this book. I'm a liberal, and I found myself sympathizing with some of the author's complaints politically. But I would have sympathized with some of them had I been a conservative. I was impressed by the way that the author analyzed bad reporting independent of its political stance.
I was especially intrigued by the section on propaganda. Here, Kitty shows us how the media feed us an overdose of dubious anecdotes, demonization, and material from which relevant parts have been censored. We see stories with all sorts of logical holes that are simply designed to get a reaction from the audience rather than report accurately, educate, or inform. And we are misled by straight-faced claims that are utter nonsense, such as that prosperity for one side in a struggle would be a violation of rights for the other side.
I do not know how thoroughly the author takes her own advice. But we certainly ought to!Don't Believe It: How Lies Become News Overview
Do you think shamed journalists Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass were rare bad apples? Far from it, they were just the ones stupid enough to get caught. Alexandra Kitty demonstrates with example upon example how manufactured news is endemic in our media and shows the reader how to spot suspicious stories.

In the last few years, the journalism industry has cut costs by eliminating important safeguards: companies have reduced the number of fact-checkers, editors, and journalists. What this means is that editors and reporters cannot spend time verifying information. Moreover, journalists are not required to have professional experience or training to cover their beats. Fierce competition to get a scoop may lead to journalists making careless errors or not double-checking information.

To maintain audiences and readership, journalists, editors and producers will choose sensational stories that "shock." Combined with time and budget constraints, journalists may unwittingly or deliberately disseminate false or misleading information to the public. It is important to "get" a story, interview a subject or nab a scoop first—the accuracy of these elements is secondary. Competition from other media outlets also means the goal of a journalist is to get the scoop first—how it makes it on the air (flawed, inaccurate, questionably obtained) is unimportant.

Don't Believe It! teaches news consumers how to verify information. It shows readers how to evaluate sources, eyewitnesses and data. This is a comprehensive bible to information verification from a logical standpoint, showing how to be skeptical without being jaded, step by step, with case studies and a classification manual.

Alexandra Kitty is a journalist who specializes in crime and media issues. She has a BA in psychology from McMaster University and a MA in journalism from the University of Western Ontario. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario.


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