Entry #3 - All is FAIR in Love and War

After reviewing my blog, I realized I fell for the oldest trick (or trap) in the journalism handbook- reporting celebrity news. I hope you forgive me, for I plan on moving onto bigger and better content. This week we are exploring "slanted reporting"- an instance where writers distort information in order to create an opinionated perspective of a subject, without actually stating an opinion.

With great writing comes great responsibility. And with great responsibility comes a slew of slanted reports. A hot topic right now is the presidential election, and that topic is sure to have an onslaught of such reports.

After searching the internet far and wide, I came across "FAIR"- an organization that "has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986." 

The national media watch group "maintain(s) a regular dialogue with reporters at news outlets across the country, providing constructive critiques when called for and applauding exceptional, hard-hitting journalism."

This organization is all about exposing slanted reporting! Looks like I hit the jackpot guys. 

A few weeks ago on March 8, 2016; Adam Johnson, a contributing analyst for FAIR; posted an article titled, 

"Washington Post Ran 16 Negative Stories on Bernie Sanders in 16 Hours"

In this case, it looks like I've found not one, but SIXTEEN instances of slanted reporting. 

The Washington Post is the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington D.C., and according to MondoTimes, it is one of the highest circulated newspapers in the USA. The Post was founded in 1877, making it the area's oldest newspaper. Sounds like a reputable source to me!

So, do these articles have truth behind them? Or did they deploy them in hopes of boosting another candidate forward? While the majority of these articles sound very opinionated, some are passable and can be regarded as neutral. A subscriber, whether in favor of Bernie or not, might skim through The Washington Post and leave with a false perception of the candidate through these headlines alone.

Titles like, 

"Clinton is running for president, Sanders is doing something else."
"Bernie Sanders's two big lies about the global economy"
"'Excuse me!' Bernie Sanders doesn't know how to talk about black people"

"Even Bernie Sanders can beat Donald Trump"


certainly make readers question the candidates ability (or inability) to run our country. 


But what would drive a highly regarded newspaper to post such material? 
The Washington Post was sold to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2013. What impact might this have you ask? According to Michael Oman-Reagan, "Amazon was was awarded a $16.5 million contract with the State Department the last year Clinton ran it. Amazon also has over $600 million in contracts with the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization Sanders said he wanted to abolish in 1974."


Coincidence? You decide. 





Jeff Bezos - CEO of Amazon, & owner of The Washington Post