April 27, 2005: It’s getting tougher to keep this blog updated. Today I saw this quote in The Federalist and it resonated with me as this is a good description of the kind of insanity I see when I try to read the New York Times:
In liberal land, the thinking goes like this: If a majority of Americans seek a change in direction they must be denied by the courts for their own good. But when a tiny sliver of the minority seeks change it must be granted them by a handful of judges for the nation’s good. This phenomenon used to be referred to as the ‘tyranny of the minority’, but is now simply known as the New York Times editorial policy.
— Lisa Fabrizio
It’s not just editorial policy – it is apparently NEWS policy at the NY Times as well.
As a writer, I know how easy it is to pitch a story into the slant you want. Headlines are great for this. The story (no matter what the facts are), with a different headline, pitched a different way, can present the same information in a way that makes the facts fit your slant. Here is an example of headlines covering the same story from different slants:
37 Die in Derailment
Bush Rail Policy Faulted in Derailment: 37 Die
Just keep in mind that there always IS a slant for any newspaper and you’ll be able to spot these yourself. Good luck!
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