Great Lies of the American Free Press

To a certain extent, the media can be relied upon to convey the truth. In the reporting of factual events, the media Is accurate but however, it still does not give the full picture of these events. Take for instance, in The Straits Times, the accounts of maids falling to their deaths due to malpractices. These are accounted in a professional manner and give specific details as to how the event occurred. What, however, was not reported was why the maids did not know that standing on ledges was dangerous to them. This provides the public with the full picture of things so that they can see things from the various perspectives and hence make informed judgments on the events that occurred. When it comes to the reporting of controversial issues that can harm the image of the country or cause reporters or editors to lose their jobs, then the media becomes an unreliable source for information or “news”. This can be highlighted from the cases discussed in the article. The 2003 Iraqi war is one example. The media only reported the American soldiers’ victories but no shot was taken of the numerous coffins bearing dead soldiers from the war. This was because showing the coffins would spoil the mood in the air that America was enjoying sweet victory in her war efforts. Thus, the news reported became one sided , biased and did not allow people to judge the war effort in an informed manner. People were more likely to support the war effort than oppose it due to all the "good , victorious" footage they had been fed.