Beverly Congdon argues that several newspapers and news corporations only report certain events and information in order to support their own opinions. She believes many people are deceived into being manipulated by the mass media.

Don’t be so apt in believing what you want to hear—just because its labeled news doesn’t mean it’s reliable. 

It is no secret that the majority of Americans are against the war in Iraq.  But what is this opinion based on? Is it based on a set of hard evidence and facts?  Or has the mass media manipulated the public into being deceived? 

The sad reality is that some news corporations aim to manipulate public opinion and set the journalism code of ethics at a lower priority. The Society of Professional Journalists have an official journalism code of ethics.  The code is a set of objectives and rules that the Society of Professional Journalists believe that all journalists should adhere to.  The preamble to the code is as follows:

“Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility. Members of the Society share a dedication to ethical behavior and adopt this code to declare the Society's principles and standards of practice.”

So in other words, reporters are to report the facts, leave all opinions aside,with the pure motive of informing the public. But today too often I notice “news” articles completely exempt of objectivity and fairness.  Too many news corporations report selectively—they write the stories that compliment particular opinions and unfairly represent people of opposing opinions (i. e. President Bush). 
 
Time and time again I have visited online The Los Angeles Times only to discover that it is not really a credible newspaper. Rather, it is a credible source of what the mass left wing media wants you to think is the news. 

Not only do newspapers such as The LA Times selectively report the news, more articles than I can count under the “news” section are filled with biased remarks.  Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly encourage everyone to have passionate opinions, especially when it comes to world events.  But news articles like these belong under the opinion section without a doubt.  News articles should remain free of analysis.  But apparently, their anger against President Bush will not allow them to be honest or follow their conscience.

The LA Times and other news corporations have a history of violations against the journalism code of ethics.  Here are just some examples I found:

1. Brian Walski, a photographer for The LA Times in 2003 digitally altered two photos together of a British soldier and Iraqi citizens in Iraq in order to make the soldier appear as if he was pointing his gun at an Iraqi male citizen holding a child.  Walski was fired after editors at Hartford Courant noticed that several Iraqi citizens in the photograph appeared more than once.   
   
   
2. Eason Jordan, news chief for CNN, admitted in 2003 that the network had been aware of Sadam Hussein’s human rights violations since 1990.  Critics accuse that CNN did not wish to encourage support for the war, while Jordan defended the decision by saying such reports would have put his journalists in danger.
   
   
3. Jayson Blair of The New York Times in 2003 was caught fabricating quotes and details in at least 36 articles. 
   
   
4. Jill Stewart, a columnist for The LA Times in 2003, pointed out that the Times published stories that made Arnold Schwarzenegger look bad (immediately preceding the recall election), while they refused to publish allegations that Gray Davis had verbally and physically abused female staff members in his office.
   
   
5. The Boston Globe in May of 2004 published photographs of supposed U.S. soldiers abusing and raping Iraqi women.  Soon after these photos were discovered as fakes when found published on a pornographic website named “Sex in War.”  
    
   
6. During the 2004 presidential race between John Kerry and George W. Bush, CBS aired a 60 Minutes show on the subject of Bush’s Vietnam-era service record.  The show used documents later believed to be forged because they were never authenticated. Producer Mary Mapes was soon after accused of working with John Kerry’s campaign.
   
   
7. In 2006, The NY Times ran a front-page story highlighting an interview with an alleged tortured prisoner of Abu Ghraib.  The real man in the interview was later discovered as a fake, his name Ali Shalal Qaissi.  
   

Be careful about getting your information from just one source—especially if you’re only reading what parallels your own beliefs.  If these news corporations are only presenting data that supports one opinion, you’re probably missing the real news that’s out there.  

For more discoveries of U.S. journalism scandals visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/United_States_journalism_scandals

To see some of the mentioned doctored photos and more, visit: www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering