New Spin on Public vs. Commercial Networks
Grok Headline matches for New Spin on Public vs. Commercial Networks
Industry and Commercial Bank of China
Unifies Regional Networks Using Cisco
Solutions
Industry and Commercial Bank of China
Unifies Regional Networks Using Cisco
Solutions
08/31/2004 07:09 PMChina Online Aug 31 2004 10:57PM GMT
MEDIA SPIN
AND ITS IMPACT ON PUBLIC OPINION
MEDIA SPIN
AND ITS IMPACT ON PUBLIC OPINION
05/25/2004 04:27 PM
 Ira Basen, a producer
with the CBC and a friend of mine from Carleton University days, is
writing a book on media spin,
a term often used interchangeably with bias. But Ira says spin is actually subtler and more
insidious. It is the shading of
meaning or interpretation of events in favour of a particular point of
view, and it is sometimes inadvertent or even unconscious.
There are several ways spin will creep into a story, including:
- The use of emotional words: The use of terms like
'terrorist', 'freedom fighter', and 'resistance movement', for
example. Did you know that Reuters' policy
is not to use
these, or similar terms charged with emotional baggage, unless they
are
used in quotation marks with the unambiguous source of the quotation
cited, even with pseudo-qualifiers like 'alleged' or 'so-called'. The
job of the media is to report the facts, and to avoid subjective
labels, even if they may be substantiated in the reporter's, or most
people's, minds. In some cased, this spin technique can be used in
reverse: the term 'abuse' instead of 'torture', or the use of
'casualties' or the infamous 'collateral damage' instead of 'dead
civilians'.
- Orwellian misuse of words: The Bush Administration is
notorious for this, using words like patriot, freedom, and peace
to mean nearly the exact opposite, and attempting to entrench public
and media misuse by naming programs and laws with Orwellian terms
(Patriot Act, Operation Iraqi Freedom). Improper personification and
similar techniques (e.g. using the name of a country or the name of
its
people instead of 'the government of', to confuse government policy or
actions with popular opinion: "Iran Building up Nuclear Arsenal",
"Syrians Refuse to Stop Funding Terrorists") can accomplish the same
end more subtly.
- Self-censorship -- What is not reported:
The choice of what not to report at all, and when (before or after the
public is focused on it) and where (front page or at the end of the
continuation of a story on page 32) to report, can have a greater
impact on viewers or listeners than what is actually, factually
reported. Recently, for example, the media had an abrupt about-face,
ceasing their self-censorship of showing flag-draped coffins and even
reading the names of American dead (oops, casualties)
in the Iraqi war, because they realized to what extent that
self-censorship impacts public perception. Likewise, the media have a
natural propensity to not
report stories that they believe are complex (e.g. the violations of the Geneva Conventions
by the US Government), long-term
(e.g. environmental deterioration and biodegradation), distant (e.g. Third World genocides
and wars unless US troops are involved) or intractable (e.g.
famine in East Africa and North Korea), because they are hard,
expensive stories to do well, and hence do not offer the ROI of, say,
a
celebrity scandal or shaggy dog story. This is not especially
political
-- it's the same phenomenon that has led to prime time TV being filled
with cheap 'Reality TV' programs instead of serious drama or
intelligent comedy. It's about lack of money, more than lack of
integrity.
- The way something is reported:
Being in a commercial business, the media have a natural temptation to
sensationalize, to create extraordinary buzz, because it's good for
ratings or circulation. If CBS had chosen merely to describe what it
had learned about Abu Ghraib, and not to show the photos, the impact
of
the story would have been much different, and it is not surprising
that
the Bush Regime (oops. some senior
policy-makers in the US Government)
have since trotted out videos and photos of Saddam Hussein's brutality
and murder to counter the emotional impact of the Abu Ghraib
photos.
- Oversimplification:
Although I have an optimistic view of most people and believe they are
capable of and interested in learning in detail about issues and
programs that affect their lives, the media have a more jaundiced view
that the public (oops, the majority
of citizens)
either can't understand, or don't care about, such detail and
subtlety.
Especially in political campaigns, there is therefore a tendency to
try
to reduce the differences between the voter's choices to an absurd
degree of simplicity. The parties and candidates exploit this by
feeding the media sound bites and negative ads that exaggerate and
oversimplify (or outright misrepresent) their opponents' positions or
actions. So whether the public wants to be or not, the media are
complicit in the 'dumbing down' of issues to a dangerously
over-simplified degree. The only question, and one which I understand
Ira's book is going to address, is whether the media are pandering to
citizens' inability to understand complex and subtle issues, or to
politicians' desire to oversimplify these issues for political
advantage. Or perhaps both.
There are other 'spin' techniques, of course, such as Failure to present
opposing interpretations of the facts, Giving credibility to unidentified
and unsubstantiated sources ("One senior former official said",
"Saddam was believed to have...") and Assuming facts without evidence
(e.g. most of what we read about WMD), but I think these are the most
common and most insidious. Let's take a look at a case study. Before
you read the following article, please note -- this is important -- It
is slamming the media's spin in handling the Clinton Administration for its bombing of Sudan,
before 9/11 and before the recent
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, please read this
article. It's long, and a bit strident, but worth the read.
Finished? Did you shudder a bit when you read, in an article written about Clinton in 1998,
"Is bin Laden's new assignment perhaps to be a bogey-man of
convenience
whom the U.S. government can link to any government it wishes to
bomb?"
With the benefit of hindsight (and the opposing political party in
power) it's easy to see the incredible spin in the venerable Times'
reporting in 1998, and to see that to some extent this ubiquitous
media
spin contributed to the overwhelming bipartisan approval for the US to
launch a war against Afghanistan, against precisely the people we had
supported and financed earlier in their
war against the USSR, the enemy of that earlier day. I confess that I
had few misgivings about war with the Taliban, despite the fact that I
am a life-long pacifist. Why? Because nowhere (except the discredited
extreme conspiracy-theorist papers) were we presented with spin-free
reporting (or opposite-spin reporting, if you think spin-free
reporting
is an oxymoron) on what exactly was, and had been, going on in
Afghanistan, and why things were the way they were. There is almost always a rational
explanation for things that appear absurd or unreasonable in the
absence of the facts. We
are just now beginning to realize the degree to which our money and
support made the Taliban both popular and tyrannical in Afghanistan.
And still we are missing most
of the facts about that country, and about Iraq. The facts, alas, are
not the same as the news. The media's job is to report the news, not
to
dig up the facts. Investigative journalism is what we desperately
need,
but there is no money in that, surprisingly little demand for it, and
precious few willing to take the enormous risks to pursue that
thankless career.
It's easy to take sides, especially when the current US administration
is so unapologetically propagandizing (i.e. deliberately and
systematically spinning) every issue it deals with, to a degree not
seen since the Vietnam War. But the reality is that the media, taken
as
a whole, are neither liberal nor conservative. The political position
of each media outlet on any given issue is somewhere in the middle of
(a) the position of its editorial board, (b) its perception of the
position of the 'average' reader/viewer, (c) the position of the
reporters covering the story, and (d) the position of the people
presenting the story (usually the administration of the day). That
means that to right-wingnuts like this guy,
the media will always appear liberal, and to unabashed left-wingers
like me, the media will always appear conservative. But the truth is,
at least in their story
reporting (editorials and schlock talk radio aside), there is no vast
media 'conspiracy' at either end of the political spectrum. Most
people
in the media are doing their best to do their jobs in a way that
balances the views of the above four 'interest groups'. They are
vulnerable to the spin techniques listed above -- if you've ever
interviewed someone, you'll appreciate that unless you're really
treated abusively there's an earnest desire to represent what they had
to say clearly, favourably, but above all objectively.
To the extent they get it right, they deserve a lot of credit -- it's
a
difficult, thankless, often dangerous and tedious job. To the extent
they, and their editors, let spin creep into their stories, we
have a duty as readers and viewers and citizens to recognize it, and
discount it accordingly. The fact that so many of us are using the
Internet to learn more, to check out other interpretations of events,
and to get behind the stories so we can understand and talk about the
issues facing our world more knowledgeably, we are contributing to the
democratic process, and helping to reduce spin. At the same time,
there
is a tendency in the blogosphere to frequent sites authored and
populated by like minds, and some of the hysterics of extremists of
every stripe are quite frightening. My blog wears its left-spinning,
overtly editorial stripes quite proudly and unapologetically, but I
make a point of reading a few of the more moderate conservative blogs
on each new issue, and occasionally some of the bizarre extreme
leftist
blogs -- because the danger of exposing yourself to a lot of spin is
that, if you're not careful, you can find yourself permanently
off-balance.
And as we all know, "fair and balanced" is another term that's subject
to a lot of spin. George O. must be 'spinning' in his grave.
|
AEP Networks plans public sector VPN
encryptor
AEP Networks plans public sector VPN
encryptor
04/19/2005 11:16 AMComputer Business Review Apr 19 2005 2:56PM GMT
Microsoft to link LCS 2005 with public
IM networks
Microsoft to link LCS 2005 with public
IM networks
07/15/2004 08:40 AMIn a move that advances instant messaging (IM) interoperability,
Microsoft Corp. will open up communication between its enterprise IM
server and the public consumer-oriented IM networks run by its MSN
division and by rivals Yahoo Inc. and America Online Inc.
Microsoft moves to link corporate and
public IM networks
Microsoft moves to link corporate and
public IM networks
07/15/2004 07:05 AMComputer Weekly Jul 15 2004 11:09AM GMT
Microsoft to link enterprise IM server
with public IM networks
Microsoft to link enterprise IM server
with public IM networks
07/15/2004 05:16 PMMicrosoft plans to open up communication between its enterprise IM
server and consumer-oriented IM networks run by its MSN division and
by rivals Yahoo and America Online.
Pronto Networks Announces New Version of
Its OSS for Public WLAN Wi-Fi Services
Pronto Networks Announces New Version of
Its OSS for Public WLAN Wi-Fi Services
08/31/2004 07:09 PMWi-Fi Technology Forum Aug 31 2004 10:20PM GMT
GSA CONFIRMS 75 WCDMA TERMINAL MODELS IN
THE MARKET* 8 million WCDMA subscribers*
43 WCDMA networks in commercial service
in 22 countries
GSA CONFIRMS 75 WCDMA TERMINAL MODELS IN
THE MARKET* 8 million WCDMA subscribers*
43 WCDMA networks in commercial service
in 22 countries
08/22/2004 02:35 AM3G Update on the progress of WCDMA globally - devices, subscriber
numbers, and network deployments [PRWEB Aug 22, 2004]
New Lyra Report Examines Acquisition
Fever in Commercial Printer Market: Lyra
Research Studies How Digital Imaging is
Transforming the Commercial Printing
Landscape
New Lyra Report Examines Acquisition
Fever in Commercial Printer Market: Lyra
Research Studies How Digital Imaging is
Transforming the Commercial Printing
Landscape
06/06/2005 12:14 AMLyra Research’s new report, "Commercial Printing: An Overview of
Production and Wide-Format," is essential reading for vendors in the
commercial printing market. The report focuses on key trends in
commercial printing, including sharp increases in sales of eco-solvent
or mild solvent wide-format printers, declining prices for wide-format
devices, and inexpensive Chinese wide-format printer products entering
the European and U.S. markets. On the narrow-format side, acquisitions
by key players have taken center stage. [PRWEB May 18, 2005]
WiFi, Cellular, and Wired Networks
Merging To Form Pervasive Networks in
Homes and Offices, Says INSIGHT Research
WiFi, Cellular, and Wired Networks
Merging To Form Pervasive Networks in
Homes and Offices, Says INSIGHT Research
12/22/2004 01:46 AMPervasive networks—a ubiquitous “fabric” of computing, information,
entertainment, and telemetry capability tied together by high-speed
wired and wireless networks—are emerging from a flurry of new
communication technologies now being used in home and office networks.
Though communications carriers do not offer this type of continuous
communication as a service today, the piece parts are already in
place. [PRWEB Dec 20, 2004]
Inevitably the Kobe case got tried in
public with leaks and press releases,
and once it got tried in public, Justice
lost
Inevitably the Kobe case got tried in
public with leaks and press releases,
and once it got tried in public, Justice
lost
09/02/2004 05:43 PMBryant charge dismissed, accuser's lawyer says .. The case didn't even
go to trial .. as he
wants
cnn.com/2004/LAW/09/01/bryant.trial/index.html
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Guidance for public sector web sites
which sell online to the public
Guidance for public sector web sites
which sell online to the public
12/15/2003 03:35 AMPublicTechnology.net Dec 15 2003 3:11AM ET
Quite a concept: Public records should
be made public
Quite a concept: Public records should
be made public
07/01/2004 03:45 PMChicago's public sculpture can't be
photographed by the public
Chicago's public sculpture can't be
photographed by the public
02/07/2005 02:07 AMCory Doctorow:
Chicago spent $270 million on its Millennium Park, placing a big
public sculpture by Anish Kapoor in the middle of it, bought with
public money. Woe betide any member of the public who tries to
photograph this sculpture, though: it's a
copyrighted
sculpture and Chicago is spending even more money policing
Chicagoans who try to photograph it and make a record of what their
tax-dollars bought.
If I were them, I'd ask for my money back. What kind of jerk sculptor
sells the city a piece of public art for a public park and then
demands that no one take pictures of it? Christ, they should run this
guy out of town on a rail and melt the goddamned sculpture down for
scrap. Then they should fire the politician who signed a purchase
contract that reserved the photographic rights and run him out of town
on the same rail. Between the artist's greed and the procurement
officer's malfeasance, this is about the vilest display of human
venality I've heard of all day.
The copyrights for the enhancements in Millennium Park are owned by
the artist who created them. As such, anyone reproducing the works,
especially for commercial purposes, needs the permission of that
artist.
Link
(
via Electrolite)
A Public Editor for an Internet Public
A Public Editor for an Internet Public
01/07/2004 03:13 PMFor the majority of readers, the New York Times is now an online
newspaper with a print edition. Suppose the new public editor began
with that fact. Something surprising--even radical--could emerge. Of
course it's all speculation...
Fun with Public Officials and Public
Databases
Fun with Public Officials and Public
Databases
07/23/2004 02:58 PMFlorida Secretary of State Glenda Hood is lying, and I can prove it.
Public enemy number one – the public.
Public enemy number one – the public.
05/02/2004 12:14 AMAccessing Wireless Sensor Networks:
Gridlogix adds support for Dust
Networks’ SmartMesh™ Wireless Sensor
Network
Accessing Wireless Sensor Networks:
Gridlogix adds support for Dust
Networks’ SmartMesh™ Wireless Sensor
Network
06/17/2005 04:45 PMGridlogix, Inc., a leading creator of enabling interoperable XML Web
Services technology today announced enhanced support for Dust
Networks’ SmartMesh™ wireless sensor network. SmartMesh is a wireless
mesh sensor network used in remote monitoring and control. The
Gridlogix EnNET® XML Web Service application extends the functionality
of the SmartMesh system to include robust protocol translation between
the wireless mesh network and other automation protocols and systems.
EnNET translates the SmartMesh wireless protocol into BACnet/IP, SNMP,
and LonWorks® allowing Dust Networks’ wireless sensor network to be
seamlessly integrated with existing automation networks. [PRWEB Jun
16, 2005]
In a Spin
In a Spin
05/25/2004 04:26 PMSpinoffs can be great investments. Just don't fall for a spin job.
New spin on biz cards
New spin on biz cards
12/26/2003 09:04 PMUSA Today Dec 26 2003 8:11PM ET
"Swimming Through the Spin"
"Swimming Through the Spin"
09/04/2004 02:46 AMNew spin on search ads
New spin on search ads
05/05/2004 07:42 PMTacoda Systems, a little-known tech company, is testing a system that
lets marketers bid against rivals to reach targeted audiences as they
surf the Web.
A DIFFERENT SPIN (SiliconValley.com)
A DIFFERENT SPIN (SiliconValley.com)
08/18/2004 06:57 AMSiliconValley.com - As surely as CDs followed vinyl, there was bound
to be a successor to the DVD spinning around in research labs.
How to spin statistics
How to spin statistics
04/10/2005 07:27 AMZDNet Apr 10 2005 10:38AM GMT
Take a Spin in the Concorde
Take a Spin in the Concorde
02/10/2004 03:00 AMAt the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center more than 80 aircraft and dozens of
spacecraft encompassing 100 years of aviation history stand
majestically on the floor or hang loftily suspended from the ceiling.
Using QuickTime VR technology, the museum captures detailed interior
and exterior views of each craft in movies for viewing at kiosks near
the exhibits. [Feb 5]
Spin Crisis 1.0
Spin Crisis 1.0
10/31/2003 04:03 PMYou must guide your marble through an ever more challenging series of
mazes.
Alias Spin Off?
Alias Spin Off?
02/12/2004 08:36 AM
Alias announced that the company is "involved in exclusive discussions
with a leading private equity investment firm for the acquisition of
Alias".
...
counter-spin
counter-spin
12/14/2003 11:19 AMAtrios
atrios.blogspot.com/2003_12_14_atrios_archive.html#1071409569
18560290
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site | 5 links
Taking Yahoo 360 for a spin
Taking Yahoo 360 for a spin
04/02/2005 08:31 PMWebProNews Apr 3 2005 12:58AM GMT
What's the best possible spin to put on
this Orwellian rewrite?
What's the best possible spin to put on
this Orwellian rewrite?
11/12/2003 04:32 PM Reasons
Not to Invade Iraq, by George Bush Sr. Only available at
the Memory Hole, since Time Magazine's website seems to have, erm,
lost it.
Apple products go for a spin
Apple products go for a spin
04/14/2005 04:01 PMApple products have begun to show up in all kinds of vehicles making
it easy to take them around town using many modes of transportation.
From bicycles to BMWs, the iPod can be found making its way onto the
road, and the Mac mini has even found its way onto the highway.
At the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco this past January,
Apple announced it teamed up with Mercedes-Benz USA, Volvo, Nissan,
Alfa Romeo and Ferrari to deliver iPod integration with their car
stereo systems in 2005.
When Mercedes-Benz USA announced its iPod Integration Kit, it became
the first automaker to provide full iPod music navigation for drivers
to listen to their entire iPod music collection through the car audio
system. The integration kit also allows the user to select music by
artist, album or playlist using multifunction controls on the steering
wheel and the integrated multifunction display on the instrument
cluster.
BMW and MINI Cooper began providing integrated iPod solutions in 2004,
enabling drivers to use iPods in BMW’s 3 Series, Z4 Roadster, X3 and
X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and MINI Cooper by plugging the iPod into
a cable located in the car’s glove compartment. Apple CEO Steve Jobs
stated that one of the next frontiers for a seamless digital music
experience is the car since "we all spend a lot of time driving" and
the company's solution lets "iPod users enjoy their entire music
collection" in their BMW or MINI.
“Almost every car company in the world is working to integrate iPod
into their cars in 2005,” Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide
Product Marketing Philip Schiller said. “iPod customers want to take
their entire music collection with them everywhere they go, including
their car, so we’re excited to be able to work with so many leading
automotive companies to provide customers with integrated solutions.”
Following the release of Apple's Mac mini, vehicle restoration
service, Classic Restorations, announced plans for installing the
pint-sized computer in vehicle dashboards. Back in January, the New
York-based company's president Melvin Benzaquen said there would be no
standard pricing for the car installations, though past computer
installations have cost between $1,500 to $7,000. So far the company
has added a Mac mini to a classic 1969 MacNova SS, a Jeep Grand
Cherokee, and has given word on its latest restoration project, a
Camino.
A Mac mini was installed in the i-Car by Miami-based Audio Elite, who
integrated the Mac mini into a Lexus. The car features two displays, a
USB 2.0 and Firewire hub mounted below the dash, and the Mac mini
mounted in a custom arm rest that has air vents and a plexiglas top
that reveals the Apple logo.
Gadget magazine T3 recently showed off a customised Yamaha EC-02
iPod-modified electric bike. The environmentally-friendly motorbike
was custom-built for use with the iPod and features a clear snap-shut
case on the top of the bike where the iPod sits snugly. The iPod is
controlled through a set of controls positioned on the right
handlebar. In addition to all the other cool features, the bike also
has a stereo speaker built into the place that the gas tank normally
sits.
As for bicycles, Marware makes an iPod bike holder that mounts to bike
handlebars and can be used with all Marware cases that use the
Multidapt clip system. The holder allows the iPod to clip onto the
bike handles placing it in clear view, for easy access to the menu and
buttons while riding.
Skeptical of Safeway's Spin
Skeptical of Safeway's Spin
04/26/2004 01:01 PMThe company's recent presentation to institutional investors fails to
instill confidence in this Fool.
New Spin on the Music Business
New Spin on the Music Business
05/15/2004 05:45 AMA Harvard professor outlines a radical plan for compensating recording
artists in the digital age. He wants to pay for music with taxes on
Internet access and MP3 players. Katie Dean reports from Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
Motorola unveils $2bn IPO spin-off
Motorola unveils $2bn IPO spin-off
12/30/2003 09:41 AMeFinancial News Dec 30 2003 8:17AM ET
give the propeller a spin
give the propeller a spin
01/16/2004 11:31 AMHere's some more geeky webby goodness I've uncovered in the last few
days.
Web developers positive spin
Web developers positive spin
05/19/2004 02:58 AMBusiness News May 19 2004 7:11AM GMT
The Difference Between Spin And An Angle
The Difference Between Spin And An Angle
02/12/2004 02:44 AMThis week, Techdirt got a lot of attention for pointing out the
extraordinarily different takes on a speech by former Dean campaign
manager Joe Trippi from
blogger
s and a reporter from Reuters. If you read the different
accounts, you would have sworn they were at entirely different
speeches. Lots of websites picked up on that story and linked back to
us - but now, former Reuters reporter Jeremy Wagstaff (who writes for
Far Eastern Economic Review and WSJ.com - and on his own excellent
blog) is taking me to task for calling the Reuters report "spin". He
says
there's a very important difference between "spin" and an "angle"
and points out (absolutely correctly) that a journalist's job isn't
necessarily to write up a summary of the entire speech, but to pick
out the newsworthy point and write about that. He points to other
press coverage of the same speech and notes that they all pick up on a
different aspect of the speech. He also gives the standard reporter's
excuse about deadlines and how things accidentally "creep into"
stories where they don't belong. He points out (once again,
correctly) that one of the nice things about blogs is that they give
an alternate source for more info and context which the reporters
don't do (it's not their job). These are all good points, and worth
thinking about - but I still don't take back my original comments.
While a reporter's job is to find out what's newsworthy and write
about it, that does not mean taking something out of context - which
is
clearly what was done with that Reuters article. If you
listen to the
speech, Trippi spends the entire speech talking about what a
revolutionary force the internet is when it comes to politics.
Whether you believe that or not, if you read the Reuters report, you
don't get that impression at all. You get the impression he blamed
the internet. Giving people the impression of something that clearly
was not being said is not an angle. It's
spin
(scroll down to spin) - and Reuters should be ashamed.
TOM.com proposes HK$1.46 bln Internet
arm spin-off
TOM.com proposes HK$1.46 bln Internet
arm spin-off
02/15/2004 10:30 PMReuters Feb 16 2004 2:36AM GMT
IBM, Stanford put new spin on chips
IBM, Stanford put new spin on chips
04/26/2004 07:23 AMZDNet Apr 26 2004 11:33AM GMT
Grok Description matches for New Spin on Public vs. Commercial Networks
GrokA matches for New Spin on Public vs. Commercial Networks
New Spin on Public vs. Commercial Networks
