High-Q | 10 סימולציה

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סימולציה מס' 01

– אנגלית פרק שני

Text II (Questions 18-22) Many people believe that the media should provide the public with an objective representation of facts and events. According to columnist William Murchison, the media “exist for the purpose of developing and transmitting the information a democratic society uses to make decisions.” Murchison and others argue that journalists should be neutral observers, keeping their opinions and partisan loyalties out of their reports. 5 While most commentators agree that objective reporting is the ideal, few believe it is possible in practice. Because journalists are human beings, not cameras and tape recorders, they are, says reporter Ted Smith, “prisoners of their own subjective views.” The news profession has developed guidelines to guard against biased reporting. According to journalism professor Robert Miraldi, journalistic conventions require that reporters must 10 strive for “balance” in each story by presenting various points of view. Furthermore, all facts and explanations must be supported by evidence and attributed to sources other than the reporter. However, some commentators argue that the very conventions of objective reporting enable journalists to slant their reporting to express their own biased views. For example, 15 even while following the “rules”, journalists are able to convey their own opinions by attributing them to outside sources. Writer Jack Nelson describes the process: “when you are going to make an opinionated kind of statement, particularly in the news columns, editors insist you attribute it to someone other than yourself - so you find someone.” Even while claiming to be objective, Nelson says, “journalists simply collect facts or quotes that 20 are consistent with their opinions. Information that is inconsistent with the slant of their stories is discarded.” Whether the guidelines for objective reporting guard against or encourage biased reporting, the debate over bias in the media is fervent. Some believe the media promote a liberal bias, others see the media as the champions of big business, and still others contend 25 the media are channels for government propaganda.

Questions

18. According to William Murchison, the media - (1) is abused by unloyal journalists (2) develops the transmission of information (3) makes decisions for a democratic society (4) should not convey journalists’ opinions

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