CNN says "Everybody seems to agree" - Really? This doesn't help.
MediaMatters.org draws attention to a report on The Situation Room, where the storyline is based on the assumption that Social Security will run out in 2041, contrary to government reports that refute that claim. The story goes on with reporting on how various Presidential Candidates will address the issue.
Is it spin, or just bad reporting on CNN's part? It's one thing for a television "news" show with a particular point of view to spin a story the way they want, using unsubstantiated fears as a pivot to leverage opinion. Hopefully,most of us can see those shows and "news reports" for what they really are, but what is this?
We seriously doubt whether "Everybody knows" and "Voter's know" would never qualify as substantiation for a story in any journalism course.
It doesn't help the dialogue and certainly doesn't serve the public interest for our news outlets to crank out stories that aren't supported by facts they can cite. It's called "fact checking" and it used to be a requisite part of reporting.
Take a look at the video linked on the mediamatters.org page.
It's not like there aren't some real issues that need to be addressed in terms of the viability of Social Security and it's funding, but the scare tactic that it's going to run out of funds and that everyone knows that to be true is simply unprofessional for someone who thinks of themselves as a journalist.
Media Matters - CNN's Chernoff falsely claimed Social Security
will "be out of money in 2041"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200801230001?f=h_latestwill "be out of money in 2041"
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