Introduction to Critically Analysing Media Statements
Thinking is hard. Most of us, most of the time, are too lazy to do it. In the past this was understandable. The media used to be reasonably honest and even if they were not there were many sources giving alternative ‘truths’ allowing the studious reader to get a number of different points of view and from them make up their own mind.
Today the major broadcasters and press are hardly better than mouthpieces for the western intelligence services, or the government press office, who are doling out the misinformation that their masters tell them to do.
Apparently this was admitted to by the head of the CIA, Davies, in 1981 who reportedly said that he would know that their misinformation strategy was working if everything the American public believed to be true was in fact actually false.
So today the task of getting to the truth, of getting alternative views is much, much, more difficult.
Who or What is the Media
For our purposes the Medai is any means of publishing
Not New – Six Honest Serving Men
Much of this is not new as the famous poem “Six Honest Serving Men” by Rudyard Kipling (1902) who once worked as a journalist) makes clear:
“I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me, I give them all a rest.”
https://www.poetryverse.com/rudyard-kipling-poems/six-honest-serving-man
This is a straight forward method of getting to grips with the media. For example you can use it to analyse video being shown currently about Iran that shows a nation in violent demonstrations against its government. But is this true?
What is actually being shown? A web search for counter-examples shows that much of the current video (Dec2025 – Jan 2026) being shown about Iran is either about some other place or some other time (apparently up 21 years old}.
What is not being shown? Once again the web search will show
counter-examples of the peaceful nature of many demonstrations.
If at this point you are convinced that you are being lied to then you can use these question to increase your knowledge about what is really going on in the world.
An Alternative Approach
If you carry out this exercise more than once and find out that the media is usually telling lies you can make your default the position to be “The Media Always Lies”. This saves a lot of time and bother since you will only need to analyse to media information if it is vital for you to have the correct information.
A more thorough approach
What follows is a simplified summary of a step-by step process that can be followed in detail or in a superficial way depending on how important the matter is to you personally.
Describe the Context and Goals:
Is it about crime and the justice system, about war, about social issue about the economy.
What does it seek to inform/convince you of.
Determine the following about the article, post, or speech:
- main assertion, contention, or goal.
- Identify the target audience; the young, the elderly, a group etc.
- the political, social, and cultural environment in which it was produced.Is it left, right or centrist? Is it aimed at the middle/working class?
Who is it Aimed at
Use the information you have gained earlier on the site from the methods described in the section on Manipulation and so on.
How is the information framed.
Is it relying on ‘Expert Opinion’
Does it rely on confirmation bias
Does/could it contain disinformation (either you know from a prior anlysis or you do the research)
And so on
Recap the main points:
- Take note of any stated or implicit objectives (e.g., persuasion, information, amusement) as you extract the primary ideas, thesis, or message.
- Make Medium-Specific Elements Clear: Think about the format’s impact (such as word limitations in social media posts, rhetorical tactics in speeches, or article structure) as well as any presumptions or biases associated with the medium.
Analysis
Analyze the structure and content: Dissect the piece’s elements, including its arguments, supporting details, examples, and narrative flow. Regarding articles,