Here’s Why Journalistic Biases Must Be Public Knowledge.
Penelope Trunk demonstrates in her post today why the question Hugh Hewitt always asks reporters is so critical.
Mr. Hewitt’s question usually comes across like this - “Who did you vote for in the last few national elections?” Or, sometimes, “What is your view on abortion, gun rights, or gay marriage.”
These aren’t exact quotes from his interviews. They are samples similar to the questions he asks to elicit the political biases of the reporters.
It’s fascinating to listen to most of them squirm and dodge these questions. They claim they are unbiased, neutral, and truth reporters.
According to Penelope Trunk, that’s a bunch of hooey!
Penelope Trunk: It Doesn’t Matter that Journalists Misquote Everyone - Media on The Huffington Post
Journalists who think they are telling “the truth” don’t understand the truth. We each have our own truth. When you leave out details, you might leave out what is unimportant to you but very important to someone else, and things start feeling untrue to the person who wishes you included something else.
Recruiters, by the way, know this well. If I get fired from three jobs but I only report that during that period I taught dance lessons to toddlers, I am not lying. I am merely telling the part of the story that I want to tell. (emphasis mine)
Wow, that kind of “honesty” (the article, not the resume) is breathtaking! Breathtaking in its blindness to any kind of ethics or morality.
How many times have you heard that it’s just as easy to lie by not telling critical facts, as by telling an outright lie?
Apparently Ms. Trunk has never heard this. She thinks that we each have our own truth. Facts are like Lego blocks - pick up what you need to build the story you want to tell.
Or, maybe we shouldn’t be so upset - she could just be lying.
Source: Penelope Trunk: It Doesn’t Matter that Journalists Misquote Everyone - Media on The Huffington Post
