Why do news writer sometimes put false information in there articles?

I think you'd be surprised at how many sources make untrue statements to reporters, or statements that are misleading.





That being said, the truth can be subjective. Take a really simple example. Suppose you're in a two-car collision. No one is hurt. Both drivers say they were doing nothing wrong. You say, ';He hit me!'; The other driver says, ';She hit me!'; The reporter interviews the police officer who investigated, but of course, the officer wasn't there to witness it. So if I were the reporter, I would simply write, ';The two cars collided at the intersection.'; Which, by the way, is completely neutral, and doesn't point a finger at either. Chances are both drivers would say that I wrote an untrue statement. ';We didn't collide -- I was hit!!'; You laugh, but I've had people say that to me.





Now, take that a step further. Suppose you're writing about a complex subject, and interview 10 different sources who a legitimate knowledge about it. All have their own opinion, and you quote them all. If it's an issue that you have strong feelings about, you might be mad at what one of them said, and you'll claim that I put something untrue in the newspaper. Was the reporter to blame? I don't think so, and in fact, most reporters go out of their way to get a balanced report whenever possible. Why do news writer sometimes put false information in there articles?
A friend of mine in the business once said, ';We don't always print the truth. We print what people say.';





There's a lot of truth in that. Reporters sometimes must quote certain sources on events, and include the statement in the story even though they have a strong suspicion the statement is wrong.





For example -- remember when the Americans were about to overrun Baghdad, and the Iran information minister Baghdad Bob said the Americans were about to be struck down? Well, that's part of the story, although obviously false ... and Bob disappeared a day or two later.Why do news writer sometimes put false information in there articles?
I think your question would be taken far more seriously if you were to give a single example.





A reasonable observer cannot answer a general question that supposes that news writers actually put false information into articles. Of course that is unacceptable.





But, do news writers (reporters) do that?





Or do sources lie or spin facts?





Is the reporter accurately capturing what someone said?





Without giving a solid example for examination you are attacking the messenger instead of the message.





Plus, you write ';Why does news writer (singular) sometimes.... So we are asked to respond to your question about a single news writer....and you did not tell us who this man or woman is and give an example of their reporting.





Your question is foolish and not well thought out for posting on Yahoo Answers. And this is not an example of English not being your first language, this is a problem with communication and execution.





I believe you meant to ask: ';Why do news writers sometimes put false information in their articles?'; and not the question you posed on here.





If you really have a question and want people to help you, then ask the question correctly and honestly seek a good answer.





I hope this answer helps you.
This a bit of a simplistic answer; but, I think the print writers are challenged to get ';one up'; on the TV news people. The TV crowd is so emotionally glued to one or another political view that they get carried away when discussing in an an ';objective'; fashion the issues of the day. Newspapers are challenged to stay relevant. Maybe, that leads to taking the story ';a bridge too far.';
I'm not sure it happens intentionally. Sometimes writers are given bad information by their sources. Sometimes a particular phrase is altered during the editing process. Sometimes it's just an honest error made under deadline pressure