"When I read the [the New York] Times and similar websites, I read with suspicion, constantly alert for narrative spin and rhetorical trickery."
- Kenneth Pike, Quillette
In scuba diving, there is a technique known as “guarded breathing” — putting your tongue up when at the surface to avoid accidentally inhaling seawater. Pike describes something metaphorically similar: Call it “guarded reading.”
Sadly, this is what we must do now when consuming mainstream media. An unguarded mind is susceptible to manipulation, and manipulation seems to be the most common aim of today's journalism. Keep your guard up.
