Chapter 10 and Conclusion
Authors' goal: To developed "a reasoned skepticism regarding the claims of the daily news...[to confront] the media with new questions and new standards before their assertions are allowed to pass the gates of acceptance" (175).
(187) "The larger lesson to be drawn here is the need to question our commonplace assumption that the news functions as a window on the world...News is not just what happens on a daily basis; it is also the reaffirming evidence that the world works today just as we always knew it should."
by the authors' claims, I think I'm a convert. The authors achieved their goal, when it comes to numbers and statistics in the news and headlines, I'm wary about them. Now I don't believe it right away, I question the numbers in a positive skeptical way (especially considering the context, the questions asked in polls/survey, the methodology done by the researchers etc.).
I think it's ironic that they used numbers of results and newspaper stories to support their claim. Sometimes I question their examples and their interpretations of them.
"In reality science is frequently far less conclusive than is claimed" (177).
I'm glad that the authors mentioned this. They reminded us that science is not infallible. They make mistakes too (considering that humans are performing them).
"Everything is connected to everything..." (179)
This quote just reminded me of Lion King and the Circle of Life. Reminiscing about it made me laugh. Also it reminded me of the Great Chain of Beings (from Brit Lit).
I really find the following quote ironic and amusing: "The more you learn, the more you understand that you don't understand very much" (191).
The authors concluded that "despite [their] criticisms, journalists also ask the question that we need answered and tell the stories that we want to hear. Often they are our indispensible watchdogs (and indeed allies) as we strived to comprehend the operation of the complex and daunting world in which we live" (193).
Posted by Michael Diezmos at November 4, 2005 6:22 AM