Misinterpreting the Media

While surfing the web recently, I cam across this image.  Now, normally I don't find myself incredibly provoked by cartoons of this sort, but this was something entirely different; this picture actually said the thousand words to me that it's supposed to be worth.  In short, it asked me, "What are you doing about this?  Or are you doing anything at all?"

"It's Media"

I see this picture as representing what just about everyone within the media industry's been guilty of at some point: framing a shot just so, tweaking words in the proper way, only giving half the story.  As a means of communication between different areas of the world and society, this shouldn't be such a twisted message that we send; rather, we should be relaying an honest series of events and ideas, which has potential to make moves in turning the media into a perpetually reliable source.  Yes, the content is still truthful, more often than not, but it's displayed out of context.  For example, in the image here, the man seen running away in reality is caught in a shot that entirely switches his action, and does the same for his aggressor.  Because of the way the shot is framed, however, it can still be considered an honest representation of what's going on...just with a bit of the story missing.  It's like when a child is caught by his parents having done something wrong.  "Did you make this mess?" they ask him, and he replies "No, Johnny did."  What he neglects to mention is the fact that he aided Johnny in this action, and by doing so entirely changes the way that events proceed from that point.  Still, he hasn't told an outright lie; Johnny did do this, but not alone.

So, what am I doing about this kind of misinterpretation in the media, about this backhanded way of skewing ideas to make or break something else?  Sure, I'm in Park and learning all that I can to accurately work with the media, but how am I actually going to apply these skills to the real world to make a difference?  The fact of the matter is, I'm not going to do it alone, but that's what makes the media so wonderful opposite its negatives; everything connects, and there are infinite ways of getting this thought across.   It's a touchy situation, considering how quick people are to jump to arms over any slight infringement of rights, but with enough influence behind the movement, it has potential to make serious progress in the way of accurate media coverage.