Journalists Blowing Facts Out of Proportion

I think one of the best examples of a news organization blowing the facts out of proportion happened just in recent months, as the Presidential campaign was still ongoing. While speaking at a campaign event in Roanoake, Virginia, President Obama said the following:

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business—you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

 

 

 

His remark was intended to highlight how the infrastructure and overall social organization of the United States provides an easier path to individual success. However, Fox News interpreted the quote (which they usually clipped down to the last two sentences) as an assault on success and indicative of socialist ideology, devoting over two hours of coverage to the quote alone.

 

 

If Fox had reported the entire quote, in context, the fallout would have been much different. Their reports outraged conservatives, and eventually determined the theme of the Republican National Convention. This is just another example of the negative effect an increasingly partisan media has on the public's knowledge of the truth.