Why we can't read the news

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In a guest article for Lifehacker, political scientist Vladislav Sasov spoke about the rules, following which a news reader can independently analyze messages about events in the world and identify what can and cannot be trusted.

Media and Communication Mission

Let me make a reservation right away that the main idea of my article is not that all media are purchased. If you are reading this, then surely not all.

The media often talk about themselves as if they are carrying out a mission of bringing information to society. In general, this is true, but the fact is that there is so much information that it is impossible to convey it all to the audience, even if you devote it 24 hours a day. Therefore, the media choose certain events based on the interests of the owners of the publication, editorial policy, state policy and ideas about what may be of interest to the reader, listener or viewer.

Not a single media outlet is capable of creating a complete picture of the events taking place in the world and in the country; they are all just trying to create such an appearance in order to inspire the trust of readers.

Journalism is broadly divided into two areas. The first is aimed at the inexperienced reader: news that is accompanied by expert opinions. The second direction is for readers who want to understand everything on their own and therefore prefer to learn only the facts, independently analyzing the events. But in fact, both of them often fall into traps.

Distortion, emphasis, silence or presentation of facts in a certain sequence are all complex, but at the same time very effective methods of managing public opinion. Learning these techniques means being able to read the news.

The main methods of forming a certain opinion and mood in the reader

In addition to flashy headlines, primitive custom-made articles and distorted words in quotes, there are other methods, much more subtle, less noticeable (and therefore more effective), which overcome the "mental immunity" of the reader and enter the mind. Such techniques can change the idea of what is happening, and later - and the worldview as a whole. Here is some of them.

1. Careful selection of facts

In the message about a particular event, only those facts are mentioned that correspond to the editorial policy of the publication, the interests of its owners or sponsors, as well as the interests of direct customers of the articles.

It is necessary to understand that every day in the world of politics, economics and culture, there are many meetings, meetings, round tables and so on. Typically, each of these activities lasts several hours. But when these events are covered in the media, at best one small article is given to each, which is not able to fit the whole variety of opinions, reflect the subject and reasoning of the discussion.

From the experts I know who regularly give interviews, I have heard more than once that only those assessments and judgments that coincide with the point of view of the editorial board get on the air. If the interview does not correspond to the editorial policy at all, no one will tell you about it, the interview will be taken and recorded, thanked, but will not be broadcast or published.

At the same time, the publication does not lie in the generally accepted sense of the word, but only publishes not all the words said on this or that occasion. The reader gets the impression that he is learning the facts, but he rarely guesses that not all of the facts were presented to him.

2. The choice of unseemly participants in the events

Any, even the most good deed, can be presented as something about which it is indecent to talk and to which it is indecent to be involved. For example, there is a rally in defense of a certain idea. If the media are interested in belittling the significance of this event, they will try to find and show people with a dubious reputation among the protesters (how they can appear there is a separate question). The event will be presented to the reader according to the following scenario: the protesters may be right, but look who are their adherents and draw conclusions. After this, hardly anyone will be serious about what happened.

3. Controlling the scale of the event

For example, serious military conflicts can be presented as local skirmishes. If the opposition's speech needs to be shown as insignificant, then, most likely, you will be shown a small handful of people who have separated from the crowd. If the opposition media cover the same event, they, on the contrary, will choose the middle of the crowd for filming in order to create the impression of a crowded event and give it more significance.

4. Belated coverage of events

It is widely believed that in order to gamble on the stock exchange, you need to read business publications. However, the information on which you can really make big money will be published only after the main players in the market start earning with it. Rest assured that professionals learn all the important news not from the newspapers we read, but from the lips of those who enter the offices of key decision makers.

5. Newspaper duck and trend formation

News portals or newspapers often use information to push us to take certain actions. Almost every day we hear that we are advised to invest in some stock, currency or commodity. But real traders are not at all inclined to share really profitable information. Therefore, such an advisor either does not consider such an investment to be promising, or he is mistaken, and the publication intends to cause certain behavior of market participants by publishing his opinion and, as a result, make money on this delusion.

An eloquent example of a newspaper duck is the case when entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov intended to conduct an IPO in relation to his bank - entering the international stock market - which would allow him to borrow considerable financial resources and obtain even more resources for further development. But on the eve of this event, the Russian media published information about the allegedly preparing for the adoption of a federal law prohibiting the remote (by mail or courier) conclusion of agreements on credit and debit cards. It is not hard to guess that after this announcement, shares of Tinkoff Bank, which gained momentum so quickly thanks to the principle of remote execution of contracts with clients, fell significantly in price. Then it turned out that such a law would not be adopted, but the young bank did not manage to attract international loans in the volumes that it had the right to count on.

6. They won't tell you the most important things

Both at the level of government departments and at the level of public organizations, there are many meetings and round tables to which the media are not invited. Alternatively, the meetings consist of an open to the media and a closed part. The open part says everything that should be published, and the closed part discusses the most important issues in a narrow circle of specialists who are not interested in disseminating information. Therefore, you should not delude yourself that you, having read several newspapers, have significant information.

The most important thing will be said non-publicly, and the average person will never know about it.

If it does, then the information is likely to lose its relevance.

7. Speed is more important than reliability

The nature of the daily media is such that few journalists have the opportunity to seriously think about what a report or article will be prepared about.

The most important thing for their employers is speed. Let's say the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, or Times have hot news. Be sure that it will be immediately translated into many languages and published in hundreds of publications around the world, including in Russia, without any verification of the accuracy of the information.

However, it is not uncommon for a news source to abandon his words a few days later, to admit to making a mistake in preparing the material, but the world no longer notices this fact, since the news has been replicated, stuck in the minds of people, and lives an almost independent life. Therefore, so-called hot messages are rarely worthy of attention.

8. Distraction

The media always have so-called pocket news stories that fill the information space with either outright nonsense or old unresolved issues if it is necessary to divert public attention from any important events. As an example, there are numerous reports about the proposals of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia to prohibit the use of garlic or the topic of transferring the Lenin mausoleum from Red Square.

Discussion in the media of this kind of topics and then their sudden disappearance testify not to the stupidity and pettiness of the media, but to the presence of a much more important informational reason that hides behind these topics.

9. Controversial editorial policies

Any publication, if it wants to preserve or even increase the audience, must from time to time abandon its editorial policy, publish different points of view on what is happening, so that a feeling of objectivity in the coverage of events is created. Such materials are likely to be presented in an appropriate way: with mockery, indignation, and so on. This often predetermines the attitude of the viewer or reader to the statement itself.

What to do?

It must be understood that there are several conflicting interests in relation to each important issue. In such conditions, it is highly likely that supporters of opposing points of view will engage in mutual exposure, and the reader will be given the opportunity to be an honest arbiter in this competition. For example, this phenomenon can be observed in the information war between Western and Russian media regarding the policy of sanctions.

When reading the news, you must be guided by the following rules.

First, always ask yourself questions:

• Who owns the publications or channels from which you get your news?
• What are the economic interests and political views of these owners?
• Who benefits from this or that article or plot?
• What political views does the editorial board adhere to? The views of the editorial staff of the publication do not always coincide with the views of the owner.
• Does the text contain the above techniques and for what purpose are they used?

Secondly, trace the entire chain of events, observe how the presentation of information about the same event has changed over the course of a week, month or even a year.

It is equally important to compare the information with what you already know or can learn from books, reference books and dictionaries.

Also try to double-check the information. If there are no eyewitnesses to the event you are interested in, read messages from various sources, including foreign ones.

If this is how you approach the issue of perception of information from the media, then you will find many discoveries and independent conclusions regarding the events taking place around.

If the proposed reading method does not suit you for some reason, then I advise you to proceed as follows.

1. To reading online resources and dailies, prefer reading weekly and monthly publications, in which analytical and verified information prevails.
2. Watching reports and listening to the radio on a daily basis should prefer the final episodes at the end of the week, in which there is less excitement and the information is presented in a more concentrated form.
3. Read news agency feeds. Usually they are the ones who get most of the information, present it briefly for those very newspapers and magazines. Moreover, much of what is published by news agencies does not make it into the popular media.
4. If the news is in the words of an important person, then do not pay attention to retelling what he said, but just read his speech in full.

And don't worry about the possibility of missing out on an event. First, the circle of news that has a direct impact on your life is not that great. Secondly, the experience of colleagues and my own shows that you will somehow learn all important news from other people who will still not stop reading the media every day.

The freed up time can be spent on anything, including reading books, time-tested or recommended by your friends. Do not forget about Mark Twain's Rule:

The person who does not read good books has no advantage over the person who does not know how to read.