…defined by Webster as: “the use of cheaply sensational or unscrupulous methods in newspapers, etc. to attract or influence the readers.”
Responsible journalism reports fully and factually on items of interest, providing a solid information base the general public can draw from to form its own opinion. If a news item is not reported both fully and factually, the reporting becomes yellow journalism by definition.
Yellow journalism has already injected itself into this year’s Presidential campaign. Several newspapers have artfully positioned verbiage in their front-page headlines to directly influence the public’s perception of candidates. A reading of the NY Times’ recent headline regarding medical record disclosures of Obama and McCain is one example.
Media outlets such as NBC, MSNBC, and others have carried yellow journalism even further, where segments of interviews have been edited out entirely in order to knowingly and willfully plant negative perceptions in the mind of the general public.
‘News’ resulting from these methods is neither complete nor factual and, therefore, not responsible journalism. Those in the media who subscribe to such methods do a disservice to the American people at a time when facts, not half-truths, are all-important if we are to make an informed decision regarding the Presidency of the United States.
