ABSTRACT
On many education issues, and especially on the issue of standardized testing, U. S. journalists in overwhelming numbers voluntarily choose to censor themselves. They talk only to advocates on one side of the story— those dedicated to maintaining the current public education system structure. Some journalists even solicit advocacy groups to write news stories for them. One can read at the Internet chat room of the anti-testing group FairTest requests from journalists to provide the information they need for a story on testing. Journalists' news stories sometimes are written based on nothing more than an advocacy group's press release, which can differ dramatically in its "spin" from the actual research being cited. In addition to distorting our individual facts, media self-interest also paints a world that is excessively dramatic, episodic, and ultimately confusing. Outside the media outlets devoted exclusively to education, education stories are typically given to the youngest, least seasoned reporters.
