Distortion of reality in news journalism: determinants and socio-cultural implications

Abstract

The article presents the results of a round table devoted to the analysis of factors that provoke the distortion of reality in the media news, we show the ambivalence of assessments and the difference in defining the essence of news and news journalism. The authors of the discussion identify the role of technological, economic, political and ideological factors that influence the distortion of reality in the news, consider the causes of “fakes” in news reports, their beneficiaries and the bonuses received, and also make an attempt to identify shortcomings in the legal framework in the area of responsibility of communicators for the unreliability of news messages. During the discussion, the news texts of both the opposition press and the media of a loyalist bias were analysed from the standpoint of assessing and interpreting political events, meaningful and axiological priorities; the specifics of the formation and presentation of news from the point of view of reality distortion techniques are considered. As a result, the participants of the discussion came to the following conclusions. Firstly, the distortion of reality in the mass media is of a massive nature, which is due to a number of factors – technological, economic, political and ideological. Secondly, this situation is perceived as a problem only by few journalists and editorial offices, which indicates a decrease in the professional and ethical level of journalism and a radical transformation of ideas about professional responsibility. Thirdly, the identified trends are typical for both regime and opposition media, which is confirmed by the results of empirical studies.