Durbin: The truth is missing

Thursday, January 31, 2008

During our education, we have been taught that a fact is true. A fact can be tested, can be proven is 100 percent accurate.

On the other hand, an opinion is only believed to be true. An opinion rests on hypothetical grounds that are far from sufficient, and they are unable to create 100 percent certainty. I have come to believe that the line between fact and opinion runs very thin, especially when it involves the media.

As college students, we have the advantages of turning to a number of different sources to get our news and entertainment: TV, radio, newspapers and the Internet. We live in a society driven by media, and it often becomes the vice we gather our information from.

The sudden increase in unwarranted opinions I seem to encounter in the media these days worries me. The true sense of reporting the facts has started to drown out. The two opposites have become so intertwined that it has become hard for people to actually tell the difference between them in today’s media.

There are two categories of people: the people who assume there are no such thing as facts, only interpretation and only opinions, and the people who do not want facts because they want someone else to come up with conclusions for them.

nutgraf

I understand that the news business is a fast-paced environment, and as professionals, reporters must give stories the edge they need so that they will be read.

If we look at entertainment media, for example: Britney Spears and her “atrocious” parenting or Heath Ledger and his “uncertain” death, we can see a hodgepodge of reporting opinions.

Let’s take a glance at Britney. Last May, she was seen carrying her baby Sean in her left hand and a glass of water in her right when she reportedly tripped over the hem of her pants, causing baby Sean’s head to “whip back violently.”

This ignited a whirlwind of opinions on Britney’s parenting skills and left the public doubting her ability to be a decent mother.

Heath Ledger was found dead last week in his apartment in New York City. His death was speculated to be drug related, but it has not been proven yet. Supposedly pills and a rolled bill were seen in the apartment. Once again reporters went crazy, assuming his death was drug related and accused him of doing hard drugs.

I’m not saying this isn’t a possibility, nor am I saying the Britney Spears is mother of the year, but with such accusations, facts are essential.

I understand that the news business is a fast-paced environment, and as professionals, reporters must give stories the edge they need so that they will be read.

But have we become so susceptible to gossip and tabloids that true facts are no longer in existence? Are we destined to be a nation driven only by opinions?

I’m really not sure, but I do know that we should all carefully question what we hear and never underestimate the ability of truth.

Don’t worry, though. This is only my opinion.

Durbin is a Hays junior in journalism and English.

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