What would a SPIN in the media/press be?

Question

I am reading up on the media and I came across the word SPIN and I was unsure what they meant by it. Can you help out?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

It's when the media reports a story in a way that is intended to provoke a specific response in people. For example, if a congressman had an affair on his wife, a media outlet that supports the congressman could spin the story to make him look better by reporting about character flaws in his wife. A media outlet that doesn't like the congressman could spin it to make him look even worse, maybe by reporting about what a nice person his wife is. That's a simplified example, and spin can happen on any scale. A modern example is spin that some networks put on the war. A media outlet that is against the war will stress how many troops have been killed and present reports that show the U.S. is losing. A media outlet that supports the war will stress ways that the U.S. is winning and make reports on Iraqis learning to govern themselves. Both sides of the story can be factual, but reporters can influence how people perceive the news by what facts they choose to report.