Over Half of News Stories are Spin
Source: Crikey.com.au, March 15, 2010
Independent journalists in Australia studied 2,203 news stories in ten different hard-copy Australian newspapers over a five day work week and found that nearly 55 percent of the stories analyzed were driven by some form of public relations. The most extreme paper was the Daily Telegraph, in which 70% of stories were triggered by some form of PR. The Sydney Morning Herald was the best at "only" 42 percent PR-driven stories. Journalists and editors explained the results by saying they are busier than ever, under-resourced, on deadline and under pressure. Many refused to even talk to the reporters investigating this story. Others who did talk asked to have their comments withdrawn out of fear of being reprimanded or fired. The study is part of an ongoing investigation called "Spinning the Media" by the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism and the University of Technology that examines the role the public relations plays in making the media.
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