Out With the Old, In With the New...

So, 2010 is finally over; the first decade of the 21st millennium is over.  We pause today to contemplate the year that has passed, and begin to set our expectations for the year to come. 

While thinking about 2010, I find that I am amazed at the inaccuracy in news reporting that seems to have dominated the year.  Opinionated vitriol has filled the news-space this year, driven by reactionary talking heads that present not only their spin on the news, but their entire story telling.  Sensationalism has always sold well, but, this year, it seems to me that it's been taken to new levels.  It's been 112 years since William Randolph Hearst told illustrator Frederic Remington:  "You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war"; but todays journalists pander to the populations desire to believe the worst in everything in ways that would make Hearst proud.

The unfortunate result of this is that we have the most ill-informed populace, that actually thinks it understands what's going on! 

Recently, the University of Maryland published a study entitled "Misinformation and the 2010 Election", in which they discovered that watchers of Fox News were more likely to believe the following:

• Most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses.
• Most economists have estimated that the health care law will worsen the deficit.
• The economy is getting worse.
• Most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring.
• The stimulus legislation did not include tax cuts.
• Their own income taxes have gone up.
• The auto bail-out only occurred under President Obama.
• When TARP came up for a vote, most Republicans opposed it.
• That it is not clear that President Obama was born in the United States.

With the proliferation of information sources that are available to us today (between the ever-increasing number of twenty four hour news channels on cable TV and the Internet), one would think that people would be able to get accurate news information on a regular basis.  And, they are able to.  The problem is that people do not know that they are being mis-informed on a daily basis, nor should they.  People should be able to tune into their news source of choice, and receive fair and balanced news information.  Unfortunately, fair and balanced news reporting doesn't necessarily sell, and as competition continues to expand for news sources, so will the sensationalism and inaccurate reporting.

What can be done about this situation?  Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done to get news sources to provide accurate reporting.  The task will continue to be undertaken mostly by bloggers, and other advocacy types who enjoy pointing out when major news sources are inaccurate.  The downside here is that, often, these types have sources just as suspect as the major news organizations, and a reputation as being "fringe" journalists.  The believability factor still rests with the major news outlets, and we expect that we are getting the best information from the mainstream media.

The skeptic and the cynic will continue to comb multiple news sources via the internet, attempting to glean a well rounded view of any news story.