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I was a little hard on the press a few days ago when I discussed the business of selling the news.ⁱ I wasn't wrong, but I didn't go far enough in handing out blame. Not that the media are clear. They're not. But they're only greedy capitalistsⁱⁱ who are responding to the real villains – US.

From their point of view, they're only doing what the Constitution – specifically the First Amendment – guarantees. They're exercising freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Most of them are simply conveying what they've heard – from other news services, from their own reporters, or from press releases distributed by everyone from commercial enterprises to governments. Some of it is reasonably accurate, if you exclude the self-serving and the blatantly opinionated (as you might find in editorials, columns, and advocacy journalists, as well the advertisements that are made to look like the news).

Advertising. That's where the real money is. The majority of a newspaper'sⁱⁱⁱ income, on average, is derived from advertising.^iv And, in large part, it's easy money. Not that it's easy to get the advertising – although an ad is often the best way to induce the public to buy a product or buy into an idea, so the purveyor may be eager to find space for it – but more important to the paper, it is generally press-ready and comes straight from the vendor or his agency, requiring relatively little work on the part of the paper. A good ad sells, so they're crafted by psychologists and other experts.

But it can only sell something if it's seen. And the more people who see it, the better the odds. Which brings us back to the original question: how do you sell newspapers? In the last message I outlined some of kinds of “news” that you're likely to have presented to you. It's hard, though, to ignore the reason for those “stories:” because they sell. People buy the papers that contain the most bizarre and titillating contents. That's what we want – not news but entertainment.^v

So if that's what we want, we shouldn't fault the media for providing it. Their goal is to increase the number of consumers. Large circulation numbers increase the cost of their advertisements and their total revenue. Everybody wins – the papers, the advertisers, and the readers.

Well, almost everybody. Those who are really interested in the news have to be careful. So much of it is slanted, omitted, and sensationalized because the media have learned that that's what their public wants. Truth is a secondary issue. A guarantee of freedom of speech is a protection for the source, not the consumer. The public, however, can learn from good journalistic practice, even if the media don't always follow it. If you're interested in accuracy you'd be well advised to check multiple sources. At least two. It's worth getting confirmation of a story before you believe it. If you read for entertainment, confirmation isn't necessary, but if you really want accurate news, it is.

Two sources. It's a small number, but it's worth getting before you believe big news.

I        Small Numbers, Big News – December 29, 2014.

ii       They have stockholders who are in it for the money. As patriotic and as desirous of maintaining American freedoms, the stockholders are really eager to make as much money as they can. And who can blame them? They have expenses like the rest of us.

iii      As I said in the previous essay, whenever I mention “newspaper” I am speaking of the media in general. It's convenient shorthand.

iv       It's not what it used to be but it's still high. See http://www.naa.org/Trends-and-Numbers/Newspaper-Revenue/Newspaper-Media-Industry-Revenue-Profile-2013.aspx

v        Television “news” programs have also turned into “magazines” in which gossip and personalities are more important than hard news. And it's hard not to find reality shows on the screen. They have replaced reality because we want to be entertained, not informed.