Good Journalism Requires A Good Reader
“Most refiners are also counting on margins going back up soon. The lower fuel prices will attract fewer imports and reduce inventories, which will in turn result in higher prices, they say. Current inventory levels, although plumper than at the beginning of the year, remain at historical lows. This means that any disruption, from a malfunction at a refinery to a hurricane, would send prices higher and increase margins …”
“One of the most profitable periods ever the for refining industry may be coming to an end.
An increasing number of troubled refineries are coming back to full capacity at a time when greater supplies of gasoline and other fuels are coming from overseas. As a result U.S. consumers have seen fuel prices ease.”
I love the Wall Street Journal. They give you the whole story. The first quote above is the last paragraph in a story headlined “Refiner’s Boom Time May Be Near End.” The second quote is the first two paragraphs of the same story.
If the reader is smart enough to read the entire story he or she will find evidence that contradicts the main premise of the story. As far as I can tell the WSJ is the only paper I’ve ever read that gives you all the information. Most, if not all, newspapers would have edited out that last paragraph to save the cost of newsprint.
Now dear reader, which blogger would have given you both sets of facts? Not many, I think. On the other hand, how many readers would have read through an entire story to find the contradictory facts? Even fewer, I know.
We may all rant against skewed stories with incomplete or misleading statements, but if we as news consumers do not take the time to read the whole story how can we expect someone to write it?
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POSTED IN: Mindset, Sharpening The Saw
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