Newswatch: Reagan's TV Troubles

Perhaps because Ronald Reagan doesn't read all that much, he cares more about what television shows than what print says. He and television both know that facts are heavy, arguments confusing, charts boring; to grab the biggest audience, give your story the human touch. This is "for-example" journalism and politics, which frequently mislead.

Reagan's homely anecdotes often prove to be factually wrong. TV commonly focuses its cameras on the glibbest or noisiest "man (or woman) in the street" to typify instant public reaction. This mutual use offer-example is what made Reagan's outburst so heartfelt: "Is it news that some fellow...

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