Can We Trust Our News Reports???
By LadyMarissa
@LadyMarissa (12148)
United States
July 9, 2009 8:08am CST
I've been noticing for a while that every news program has its own particular slant on what's happening. To counteract that, I NEVER watch just one station's report. I watch maybe 4 or 5 different channels & then decide for myself what really happened. Now, I have run into a new dilemma. In watching 2 different news reports yesterday, I got 2 completely different reports. This was news on the local level. One said a 12 year old boy was shot & killed. The other said an 8 year old girl. There is a BIG difference between a 12 year old boy & an 8 year old girl. These same 2 channels have reported other things wrong. Either that or I'm totally losing it!!! (Yes. I can't even deny that as a possibility) 
Are you seeing a similar problem??? Have you noticed that the quality control on your local news is getting much worse??? Tell me your story of monitoring your local news (or even network news) 
Are you seeing a similar problem??? Have you noticed that the quality control on your local news is getting much worse??? Tell me your story of monitoring your local news (or even network news) 2 people like this
11 responses
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I have noticed the same kind of thing in our area on the local news. First we heard the airplane survivor was a 14 yr. old girl. Next heard she was 9 and then finally 12, I think. It was the plane traveling from Paris to some island that I can't pronounce, spell or remember..lol I think the news media doesn't feel the details are quite as important as the actual event and who can report the event, good or bad, first. Timing is of the essence. Strictly my opinion.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
9 Jul 09
They are in such a hurry to be first to get it out, they forget that the facts are important. When I see such sloppiness, it makes me wonder what other news items are WRONG!!!
@howard96h (11640)
• New York, New York
9 Jul 09
I see this happen very often Lady M, you don't know what and who to believe and it gets really annoying especially if you call to tell someone about it and they have herd something completely different. 
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
9 Jul 09
HEYYYYY STRANGER...GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK!!! I really hate calling up somebody & relating what I heard on the news only to hear them say...that's not what happened....let me tell you what I heard!!!
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
9 Jul 09
It's unbelievably ironic that you've posted this discussion just now LadyM, because I've just had a news article link I posted a discussion on a few days back completely change it's text on me and express a different view! 
I posted a discussion on Australia being the 3rd happiest place in the world based on a survey and now the new article wording (on the same link) says it's 102nd! And I've also found another 4 or 5 articles that STILL say that Australia came third??? So based on all of this, NO we can't trust news reports because they change like the damn weather and everyone has an angle that can be gleaned from pretty much anywhere. 
I posted a discussion on Australia being the 3rd happiest place in the world based on a survey and now the new article wording (on the same link) says it's 102nd! And I've also found another 4 or 5 articles that STILL say that Australia came third??? So based on all of this, NO we can't trust news reports because they change like the damn weather and everyone has an angle that can be gleaned from pretty much anywhere. 1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
9 Jul 09
OMG James....that's even WORSE!!! One of the stations I'm referring to has been known to change its articles also. They'll tell something on the news. I'll go to their site & read the article to verify. Then I post a discussion. Somebody asks for the link to verify my info. I go back to get the link & it has just disappeared. Then I wonder what was wrong with the news report that they are afraid to leave their backup article on the site. There have always been certain types of stories that are told ONLY ONCE before you never hear them again.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
9 Jul 09
Yes, National news has been doing that for some time. That's why I watch several different National shows & determine what I really believe. Atleast National tells the same facts....just with their own slant. The local news has been putting out BAD information...the facts are just plain WRONG!!!
@MyTimeNow (48)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I dont trust anything I see on the tv, read in the paper or on the net. The news is controlled by the government and they will report what the are told to report. I was investigating the JFK assassination and the news reporters changed their story 3 different times. Same goes for the war in Iraq. Bush said that they were hiding weapons of mass destruction so we had to invade. Well that turned out to be completely false. He is at the moment being inditted (sp?) for lying and starting a war. This is might start a huge debate but I am just telling you my story and beliefs on the topic.
@FFFrocks (306)
• Canada
9 Jul 09
No we can't at all, on a local or national level. I can think of a lot of news stories in the past 10 years that came out with about 10 different versions depending on which station or website you visit. When something happens and is reported on the news I'll believe that something did indeed happen, but I question the details. You usually have to wait for several days and sometimes months, for the true story to come out. And even then you just know that it's been edited, sensationalized, twisted, to a certain degree.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I've decided that they ALL are rushing for the ratings so hard, they no longer check the facts. They just want to be the FIRST to report it. I've notice they ALL keep saying "We have the exclusive" or "We were first on the scene". I don't care who got there first. However, I do care what news they report & the accuracy thereof!!!
@peavey (16936)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I have absolutely no faith at all in the news media, not even the ones I agree with! Politically, they're all slanted or overdramatized to try to prove something, but getting the basic facts straight doesn't seem to be a priority any more, either. It's getting to the point that I'd be ashamed to be associated with anyone in the business.
Politically, they're all slanted or overdramatized to try to prove something, but getting the basic facts straight doesn't seem to be a priority any more, either. It's getting to the point that I'd be ashamed to be associated with anyone in the business. @LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I agree. The news of today becomes the theatrics of tomorrow!!! I think they ALL should be ashamed of themselves. Even the reporters with sense seem to lose it over an important report.
@laglen (19759)
• United States
10 Jul 09
We have one true live and local station here. It is locally owned and operated and I have found that the news is pretty right on. Our news person stays pretty middle and only reports facts. We have opinion shows that report their opinion but you know that up front. I am sorry that your local news is so slanted. I would call them on it.
our local newspaper is awful and is now losing a lot of money. Nobody gets it locally because their full of crap!
@catherinexuling (108)
• China
10 Jul 09
i do trust our reports,but now you ask that if the reports can be trusted on?my answer is no they can't sometimes.now many reporters in order to please the readers they twisted the truth... it can't be known that how the truth really is.
@faisai (1138)
• Hong Kong
9 Jul 09
It is quite common to see unmatched information from 2 different news channel. Sometimes, it is because the news are reported at different times so that the earlier one actually has not confirmed the information before reporting it. And the other times, it is plainly human errors.
Whenever I come over this and that I really want to know what has truly happened, I go to the newspaper. I am not saying newspaper won't make mistakes but then they are not on the same tight schedule as the news channels so that they are possible to have more verifications on their source of information. But then, reading the newspaper can be quite a problem considering their political stance always pollute the news stories. It really takes some effort to skip all those political views from the stories to get what I want.
@SubZeroGL (7)
• South Africa
9 Jul 09
I'm speaking out of personal experience, do not always trust or believe what you see or read in the news, it is like the previous responder to this post said, the news is very one sided. I have also noticed a diffirence in International news. I only watch the news for the Financial indicators and the weather, i rearily take interest in any other news issues
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
9 Jul 09
I expect one sided news!!! However, no matter how one sided & opinionated it may be, I still expect the facts to be factual.
