Monday, February 07, 2005
Reading the News in the Era of Blogs
Blogs are a very rapid fact-check and balance on current news. Let's take an example from todays New York Times (NYT) which has a lead article,The New York Times > Washington > Bush Budget Raises Drug Prices for Many Veterans,that discusses aspects of the proposed VA budget Note the title and header as it appears on the front page summary of the on-line NYT Breaking News; it gives the impression that Bush is scrimping on poor Vets. And for many who just scan the "Summary" or first paragraphs, that misleading "impression" becomes the whole message. The article, after a few paragraphs, does explain that the "cost increases" only apply to financially well-off vets who have no service-related disability; still later one can read about how the budget provides more overall funding and shifts priorities to better serve those Vets who have service-related disabilities and/or are less well-off financially.
What's my Big Point here? Well, I get the Times on-line every morning; early today, beforeI got to read the NYT article, I read about it and its misrepresentative ( dare I say biased) title in an excellent review by the Captain's Quarters: "The Non-Existent Cuts At The VA". As Capt. Ed puts in his 6:30 AM Post :
"The New York Times tries its best to hype up a controversy over veterans' benefits in the new budget submitted by the Bush administration, but the Gray Lady reveals herself as the painted lady for the Left instead. Robert Pear and Carl Hulse offer up this slanted look at the new budget under the headline 'Bush Budget Raises Prescription Prices for Many Veterans.' The qualifier 'many' should raise eyebrows, although the reader has to scroll down to the tenth paragraph to discover what it means."
It's neat to be able to read the morning news and the fact-check rebuttal with your first cup of coffee. The power of Blogs to change the ways we see the world continues to grow. I'll add to this theme in some future postings.
What's my Big Point here? Well, I get the Times on-line every morning; early today, beforeI got to read the NYT article, I read about it and its misrepresentative ( dare I say biased) title in an excellent review by the Captain's Quarters: "The Non-Existent Cuts At The VA". As Capt. Ed puts in his 6:30 AM Post :
"The New York Times tries its best to hype up a controversy over veterans' benefits in the new budget submitted by the Bush administration, but the Gray Lady reveals herself as the painted lady for the Left instead. Robert Pear and Carl Hulse offer up this slanted look at the new budget under the headline 'Bush Budget Raises Prescription Prices for Many Veterans.' The qualifier 'many' should raise eyebrows, although the reader has to scroll down to the tenth paragraph to discover what it means."
It's neat to be able to read the morning news and the fact-check rebuttal with your first cup of coffee. The power of Blogs to change the ways we see the world continues to grow. I'll add to this theme in some future postings.
