WASHINGTON (Dec 1, 2008)—
Visit most any university-level journalism class across the country, and you'll undoubtedly hear a lesson about taking quotes out of context.
It is a lesson aspiring reporters are taught early on in the curriculum—be accurate when quoting a source and don't mischaracterize a source's quote to fit the story you want to write.
Why then did news organizations like The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal abuse a straightforward statement made by President-elect Barack Obama about farm policy last week?
When asked how he would trim wasteful government spending, Obama cited a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) about fraudulent farm payments being given to unqualified individuals.
The Washington Post ran a front-page piece in April penned by a fellow of the German Marshall Fund—a well-heeled and outspoken farm critic—about a DC-area bagel shop that was forced to raise prices because of wheat costs.
