Right-leaning viewers think Fox News reveals a side of the news not seen in mainstream media. Left-leaning viewers would say the same about MSNBC. But there’s a difference. Fox News just retracted its controversial article about murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich in a way completely different from how journalists should behave. You can read the…
Huffington Post is changing its name to HuffPost and will now focus on telling stories of the powerless. What does that mean? I’ve read the piece from Editor-in-Chief Lydia Polgreen and I’m still trying to figure it out. I think she is confused, and writing about things when you are confused results in a muddled…
“That’s fake news!” “No, you’re fake news.” With all the accusations of what’s fake flying about, is there any meaning to the idea of truth? It’s a remarkably subtle concept. But, contrary to what President Trump told TIME Magazine, truth is not a feeling. The topic of the TIME interview was truth and falsehood. Trump said a…
It’s snowing here in New England. And, as always, the local and national news and weather cabals have energized the panic economy, creating not just millions of page views but endless supermarket lines to buy batteries, bread, and milk. (Why bread and milk? No one knows.) As I sit safe and cozy in my home…
The Las Vegas Review-Journal — owned by the politically active casino owner Sheldon Adelson — just became the first major newspaper to endorse Donald Trump. Endorsements are supposed to be biased, but the more over-the-top they are, the less persuasive they are. This endorsement is so full of florid language that it strains credulity. To understand…
The stock market has already priced in anything you read in The Wall Street Journal about stocks. So they fill space with an elaborate passel of theories that’s obscure enough that you might think the market doesn’t understand it yet. That’s fine, so long as you realize it’s for entertainment purposes only. Markets reporters at a paper…
Four Americans died in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. Yesterday’s “final” 800-page report about it from the U.S. House Select Committee is biased. So are the response from House Democrats, the coverage from Fox News, the coverage from CNN, and every other article. Why? Because all stories are inherently biased. It’s the nature of the form. Here’s…
When my correspondents linked me to an Inc. Magazine article, “Study: Poor Writing Skills Are Costing Businesses Billions,” I thought I’d find good evidence for my thesis that business writing is a problem. Instead, I found bullshit, and a good case study in how today’s media environment is an echo chamber for garbage. Poor writing is an expensive business…
News is a matter of selection — we can read only what writers and editors choose to publish. But regardless of what outlet you’re reading, from the most massive newsgathering operation to the smallest blogger, you’re not getting the whole story. Why? Because of unspoken biases that we all accept. I want to be clear here:…