To the Editor:
David Greenberg says the term spin “is relatively new,” but political spin itself actually dates back to the earliest days of our Republic, when newspapers were attached to political parties and editors shaped both the news and editorial content to fit their partisan needs. Our contemporary class of political strategists who calibrate spin is merely an extension of the many operatives who masqueraded as journalists years ago.
What makes spin seem so troubling today is its prevalence in a media culture that saturates our lives. Mr. Greenberg is right that spin provides all shades of political interpretation that we should, as he says, examine critically. But more problematic than spin is our own tendency to seek out media and voices that confirm our biases—and then to think that we got the news for the day.
LEONARD STEINHORN
Washington
The writer is a professor of communication at American University and a political analyst for CBS News.
Note from KBJ: The New York Times has elevated spinning to a fine art. The newspaper's manipulative rhetoric, even in straight "news" stories, is relentless, and always favorable to progressivism.
