Here’s how the media hierarchy often works: a global authority (say the New York Times) covers a story, the story hits the media radar, and smaller outlets pick it up, paraphrase it, and run it on their own sites. As a rumor churns through a mill, so goes a story through the mediascape. The whole arrangement is a recipe for potential mutations and distortions. And when the original story had flaws to begin with, and the outlet who picks it up botches things even further, well, that’s how a media that’s supposed to enlighten us sows confusion. Add in the fact that animals cannot write letters to the editor and you an see why this happens a lot. A textbook case of this process involved the last story I evaluated for The Daily Pitchfork. In it, I take the Times to task for downplaying the obvious message of Direct Action Everywhere’s disturbing footage taken undercover at Petaluma Farms, a northern California Farm that supplies Whole Foods and Organic Valley. Rather than emphasize the clear evidence of animal abuse evident throughout the video, the reporters turned most of the piece over to Petaluma and its advocates to defend the operation, which they did in predictable … Continue reading Civil Eats Further Scrambles An Already Rotten Egg Story