9.20.2010
9.13.2010
Pet Peeve #1
Over time I've found that there are certain things or people that really bother me and I know you're dying to know what and who so here it goes - my first entry.
Journalists.
Journalists who insert pages of quotes and information supporting one side of a multi-faceted argument and then add a tidbit of information supporting all other sides. And then they call them selves unbiased.
I realize that everyone is biased in some sense or another (we're all human, after all), but when one writes an article with clear lines as to what they think and what they want their audience to think, that's got unethical and downright unprofessional written all over it.
Journalists who tweak the facts to make it look like what they're saying is Biblical. A statistic about Dalmations and a statistic about dogs (in general) do not say the same thing, nor does one make the other inaccurate. And yet article after article, especially those found at the most random times of day, include statistics/quotes that are written in a way so that the reader follows along and gets all riled up about something that was written incorrectly.
Which leads me to the other aspect of this pet peeve: The audience.
Articles are intentionally written to target those with a 5th grade reading level, depending on the subject and publication. We write to explain, to inform, to seek the truth in complicated situations, to understand and relay multiple sides of a hotly debated topic.
However, because we know that some journalists sway the truth to forward their own agenda (ugh), the people reading or watching anything need to be wary and read carefully, think critically.
In a world where everything needs to come at lightning speed, the internet assists journalists to write and hit send within minutes, and allows the reader to read quickly and extract the information they need to understand what's happening around them, or just to have a conversation starter.
But if we, the readers, stopped to pay attention to the details, to really figure out what's being said, to read multiple sources and use common sense to finally come to some sort of decision in our minds, we'd be the start of something great!
Imagine, a world of people who don't naively and blindly follow the media at every jump and turn, who see the dangers in reading or hearing one thing and assuming its fact. I can see the angels playing their harps and trumpets in joy at the very thought.
Until people begin to see the truth shining through the cracks of white lies and cover-ups, through the fog and filth that creates a thick film over their glasses, the world will continue to be run by people who hold the truth and know how to hide it.
Good thing there's lasik surgery nowadays.
Journalists.
Journalists who insert pages of quotes and information supporting one side of a multi-faceted argument and then add a tidbit of information supporting all other sides. And then they call them selves unbiased.
I realize that everyone is biased in some sense or another (we're all human, after all), but when one writes an article with clear lines as to what they think and what they want their audience to think, that's got unethical and downright unprofessional written all over it.
Journalists who tweak the facts to make it look like what they're saying is Biblical. A statistic about Dalmations and a statistic about dogs (in general) do not say the same thing, nor does one make the other inaccurate. And yet article after article, especially those found at the most random times of day, include statistics/quotes that are written in a way so that the reader follows along and gets all riled up about something that was written incorrectly.
Which leads me to the other aspect of this pet peeve: The audience.
Articles are intentionally written to target those with a 5th grade reading level, depending on the subject and publication. We write to explain, to inform, to seek the truth in complicated situations, to understand and relay multiple sides of a hotly debated topic.
However, because we know that some journalists sway the truth to forward their own agenda (ugh), the people reading or watching anything need to be wary and read carefully, think critically.
In a world where everything needs to come at lightning speed, the internet assists journalists to write and hit send within minutes, and allows the reader to read quickly and extract the information they need to understand what's happening around them, or just to have a conversation starter.
But if we, the readers, stopped to pay attention to the details, to really figure out what's being said, to read multiple sources and use common sense to finally come to some sort of decision in our minds, we'd be the start of something great!
Imagine, a world of people who don't naively and blindly follow the media at every jump and turn, who see the dangers in reading or hearing one thing and assuming its fact. I can see the angels playing their harps and trumpets in joy at the very thought.
Until people begin to see the truth shining through the cracks of white lies and cover-ups, through the fog and filth that creates a thick film over their glasses, the world will continue to be run by people who hold the truth and know how to hide it.
Good thing there's lasik surgery nowadays.
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