Misunderstandings arising from reports can be the consequence of honest error or deliberate spin. Let’s say Sue Ann comes in to see her boss and says “Joe and Lucas are having a big argument in Joe’s office. Somebody better stop it before it gets out of hand and someone gets hurt.” Sue Ann’s boss rushes down the hall to Joe’s office and what he sees is Joe and Lucas talking loud, faces red and waving their arms. But he learns they are not arguing, what they are is excited and animated. A report would have said Joe and Lucas are talking loud, their faces are red and they are waving their arms. Claiming they are arguing is an interpretation and in this case an honest error. If it is an argument as Sue Ann thinks, the boss knows he will have to intervene in a conflict. If the boss accepts Sue Ann’s interpretation, he is apt to rush in to Joe’s office demanding to know what the fight is about. Accepting Sue Ann’s interpretation has the boss preconditioned to stop a conflict. Hearing a report instead of an interpretation has the boss prepared to adapt to whatever is happening. Interpretations conceal what is actually present while reports reveal what’s present and invite actions that fit the situation.
So called news reports are often deliberate spin and not reports at all. Take any newspaper and look at the headlines. Are they reporting the news or spinning the news? Here are some examples from the New York Times, October 8, 2006. “Religion Trumps Regulation . . ., New York Immigration Courts Lurch . . .,Foley Case Upsets Tough Balance . . . and more. The selection of language creates spin. It could be deliberate spin pointed at shaping how the news is heard or no more than an attempt to make the paper attractive to readers for economic reasons.
The tragedy here is how often all of us accept interpretations and spin as reports without questioning the reporters qualifications or motives.
