Press Tries to Spin Story Surprised?

Corpus Spohn Hospital Memorial administrator Peter Banko stated at a press conference today that Harry Whittington’s bird shot injuries from Vice President Cheney had caused a minor complication. It appears that one of the bird shots has irritated the upper chambers of the heart and caused a silent heart attack, but not it the traditional sense. They further stated that there is a slight chance it could move and wanted to keep him under observation for another week as a precaution.

Dr. David Blanchard, director of emergency services at the hospital stated that his heart was healthy and that after being asked by the press how it would affect his future he stated “He’ll live a long healthy life as God has intended”.

The thing that really irritated me as I watched was the questions the press asked. After being told that he was fine, that no further complications were expected, and his heart is extremely healthy, the press fired off questions as if he was on the brink of death. The entire press conference seemed to fall on deaf ears. I also noted that it started to irritate the Dr. and he quickly snapped back at one reporter’s question and then the administrator ended the questions.

It is no wonder there is media bashing going on. They constantly want to spin the story and make it grandeur. Reporting the facts is one job, providing a commentary on facts is another but it seems they blur and become “factentary” in the hands of the press.

The way the press treat facts reminds me of the exercise in a communications class 101. The teacher whispers “President Bush is a great president who defends his country” to the 1st student and he passes it on to the next and so on. The last student repeats out loud “President Bush is a terrorist and he’s going to nuke Iran”.