Context and Media Matters

This blog on today's Dailykos is a great example of how an op-ed in a major national newspaper (in this case, The Washington Post) can take a comment out of context and twist it to suit the writer's political agenda.

Sometimes, as the contents of an op-ed are echoed by cable news sites, the contextual fact that is purposely left out, is muddied or lost in the frenzy of TV sound bites . The falsehood that the op-ed initially states, for disingenuous purposes, is then transformed perceptively into a viable point of contention, open to an honest discussion. At this point, the current trend is to have purported "experts," "debate" the validity of the context on shows like Hannity and Colmes or Hardball. However, once such action is taken, the initial misrepresentation becomes something more analogous to supportable opinion as opposed to the out right fallacy it had always been. In short, this sort of coverage of deliberate and deceitful conjecture generally fuels misconceptions that run rampant through public mindsets all the while perpetuating unethical journalistic practices in the mainstream media.

If you ever hear something on TV, or read an op-ed in a paper that is reported as a viable, fact-based, opinion but you have questions concerning its true validity and want to know more, check out the website Media Matters for America.