But if we consider the criticisms carefully, it's apparent that while the press is not blameless, neither is any of us. If they did a better job of reporting, I would be better informed. This favorite refrain is highly flawed. First, it lumps all media together. The criticism usually refers to television and its short sound bytes.
TV news does run short stories, but that's the nature of the medium.
Television newscasts are only 30 minutes long, and include numerous local and national stories. Each story must be brief if it is to be included. But that doesn't prevent voters from consulting other media of more depth, such as newspapers, magazines and the Internet. In addition, most campaigns and government agencies now have Web sites that provide a litany of information. The conspiracy theorists who advance these views are usually referring to specific newspapers such as The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal.