Thread: Sooooo.................

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The lesson I learned is that they edit in/out what they want. About five years ago a local TV station wanted to interview me about the question as to whether folks needed to buy high test gas. I prepared what I thought was a very short set of comments recommending that folks wanting to save on the cost of premium could get a tune up to adjust timng and/or do the "ping test" going up a hill and trying to accelerate without changing gears or downshifting to decide if they needed high test. Then I made a tinker toy model of the branched form of octane. The whole interview was less than ten minutes and I figured they would edit it some but when it aired they had whittled it down to just one sentence with me holding a model that had no explantion. Aside from the subtle manipulation of political views, there is a diservice to general science so they let you say what you want and then they edit out one or two sound bites and that is it! Sooo, if you get a chance for an interview be prepared to say your main point in ten words or less and get to it right away. Don't give them material to edit other comments, just make your point in a few words and that is it. Sure they have Bosses/Editors and time deadlines but you need to avoid giving them too much material to manipulate. My pet peeve is when TV reporters mangle the pronunciation of the names of chemicals and they make it so apparent that their background includes very little science (many have law degrees or a degree in Communication), yet there they are trying to "inform" the public in a newspaper vocabulary of 1000 words or less in an age that depends on technology. Still when you retire try to catch Bill Hemmer and Megan Kelly on FOX in the 10-11 AM slot, they do a pretty good job in a lively way, so there are good reporters. Did I just use more than ten words?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I've had some experiences as well. Some bad and some not so bad. You would be wise to always assume the worst though. Like, how do you know Uncle Bob ain't an under cover media operative just trying to lure some of you saps into saying something that his editor can twist into a major security threat?

(Twilight zone music here) Kitz

Wrong thread Jon, the conspiracy, um, uh, oh........stuff, is across the hall.

It would be easy to get cynical about this media stuff. I saw this obvious joke as good commentary (humor always seems to work best when it incorporates real life situations) on how we should be willing to dig deeper whenever we see/hear a news account. It's also important for what we get from the internet. As in this story, the reporter could defend him/herself as being "accurate" by saying the guy did ride a bike, the lion was from Africa, and the kid was supposed to be lunch. But context has meaning.

Don, what you say has great merit, any time we put our comments in the hands of editors we're at risk. I once got a call from one of the local TV "consumer advocate" reporters. He asked his question wanting my feedback. I told him that his premise was wrong, that the condition/product he was doing his report on was not as he wanted to present it. I offered several non-biased sources to refute his position, and I naively thought that would cause him to present the facts (I was much younger then ). When I tuned in to see his report his agenda was clear. Facts be damned, he was on a crusade! That episode along with many others has caused me over the years to seek out multiple sources of info on any matters that are of import.

Gee Bob,

You are getting as cynical as I am. I have the advantage of having been around when all things happened so I don't pay any attention to any news reports. They are all about ratings and getting more money and advancement. not reporting news. At least some of your weather reporters can get the right days. When I was young they didn't re-write everything until it came out the way they wanted it. It was to hard to erase and chisel new words into the granite blocks.

Ron

Here is a 1990 vintage ,called spin.......
Free Movies & Documentaries - Spin (1995)
Here is the newest version 2007 ,how presidents and pundits kepp spinning us to death..
Free Movies & Documentaries - War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (2007)