NY Times on Video News Releases from the US Government

If you want another good reason not to watch TV news, read this lengthy damning indictment by the New York Times. The article describes how TV news shows often broadcast video news releases prepared by the US government without clarifying the news release’s source. The fact that TV news shows use video news releases generally doesn’t inherently bother me, but the sloppiness in how these releases are handled does bother me a lot. In the end, the only logical conclusion after reading the article (assuming we’re not being manipulated by the NY Times itself, which shouldn’t be discounted) is that we can’t trust anything presented to us through TV news shows given their economic incentives and suspect editorial decisions.