Questions for Discussion
1 According to Walter Lippmann, the danger in failing to recognize that “news is not
truth” is that people make decisions about their actions not on the basis of what actually exists but on the basis of what they think exists. In other words, if a person believes something to be true, he or she will act as though it is true.
Discuss significant recent or historical examples of inaccurate media reports that resulted in detrimental actions that otherwise would not have been taken.
2 Review the SPJ Code of Ethics for Professional Journalists (https://www.spj.org/
ethicscode.asp).
What aspects of the code reflect the writing of Walter Lippmann?
3 Discuss the ways in which recent or historical protest marches were covered in the
media and the impact of the coverage.
What problems do you see with that coverage? In what ways can the coverage of such events be improved?
