Recognizing Bias in the Media

[Vocalek]

Just ran across this interesting article on words to avoid when writing for Wikipedia. This also provides a roadmap for readers to recognize words that indicate bias in any published writing.

Wikipedia:Manual of Style (words to watch) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[kristin]

Hmmm...I seem to use a lot of weasel words when describing what the antis are up to! lol

 

[Vocalek]

But that's OK, Kristin. You can get around the problem by footnoting your assertion, and then referencing some other thing that you wrote as the source! That's what they do!

 

[jtpjc]

That's a fun article! Wait, let me try something:

"As has been shown by renowned scientists, it is widely thought that the fundamentalist anti’s have clearly revealed by their cultist claims it’s been proven that some things are not really healthy, which obviously is just the tip of the iceberg."

No, that's not quite right. But it certainly sounds like something that's right, if we were only smart enough to get it.

 

[TallGrass]

My Mom clipped this out of a recent Woman's Magazine for me... she's been married to a smoker since the 60's and has hated the smoke every day.. kind of heartbreaking really. I'm hearing echos of Tammy Wynette in the distance. I haven't been able to convince my dad to make the change yet but I'm getting close!

 

[Vocalek]

Was this part of an article in the magazine, or was it an ad? If the latter, who paid for it?

The answer to this is, of course, is to carry things to their logical conclusion.

It is much safer for smokers to continue lighting up the cigarettes, say researchers at the University of California, Riverside. Those smokers who tried to quit numerous times without success and finally succeeded when they switched to an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) should switch back as soon as possible. Symptoms of the negative health effects of using e-cigarettes include higher scores on Peak Flow Meter tests, lack of wheezing, less coughing, lower blood pressure, and more stamina. "This must stop," stated lead researcher Prue Talbott.

 

[TallGrass]

naw, you know in magazines how they stick those little tidbits of "useful" information at the bottom of the page.. usually totally unrelated the article at hand... meant to inform people of whatever is the Hot Topic of the day. I'll ask her if she still has the original magazine so there is some context.