Peirspictiochtai Ar An Saol
Zero-Based News
Part Fourteen
When “news” is presented as “news” by those who control media organizations, it may appear that that “news” reflects reality to those who read, watch, and listen to that “news.”
That may or may not be the case.
Consider one of the subjects that is most divisive in our country: racism.
You may well read, watch, and listen to news coverage of racist acts committed by Americans against Americans.
Each of those individual news reports may be accurate and factual, yet may not present the reality of the United States of America.
Individually, and together, the news coverage of racist acts may give the impression that these racist acts are common, routine, and ways of life for many Americans.
Imagine, for example, that just 1% of all American adults are racists.
To make it even more detailed, imagine, for example, that just 1% of all American adults who consider themselves to be White are racists.
What would the news coverage look like if that news coverage would focus on a racist act of each of those racists?
Let’s consider actual numbers.
According to the United States Census Bureau, 331.4 million people were living in the United States of America in 2020.
(The numbers from the U S Census of 2020 are being used in this example because each of the subgroups noted is identified with some specificity within that census.)
Of the total population, the 2020 Census indicated that there were 258.3 million adults (people 18 years of age and older) living in the country in that year. This reflected about 77.9% of the total population.
Of the total population, the 2020 Census indicated that 64.1% of all of those adults identified themselves as White only (as compared to White plus one or more other races). This approximates to about 165,570,000 adults.
Using that number – 165,570,000 – as the total number of White adults living in the United States, imagine that just 1% – 1,655,700 – are racists.
Imagine that one news story is reported on one specific racist act committed by each of those individual racists; just one racist act committed by an individual racist.
If 50 news reports were presented every day – news reports detailing the racist acts of 50 individual racists – there would be 18,250 news reports detailing individual racist acts each year.
At that rate, it would take almost 91 years to report all of the individual racist acts of these racists.
(For purposes of these examples, the number of days each year is being kept at 365 days; leap years with 366 days are being counted at 365 days.)
If 100 news reports were presented every day – news reports detailing the racist acts of 100 individual racists – there would be 36,500 news reports detailing individual racist acts each year.
At that rate, it would take more than 45 years to report all of the individual racist acts of these racists.
In the first example, the vast majority of Americans would die before all of the news reports could be presented detailing the racist acts of these racists.
In the second example, almost all American adults who were alive in the first year of this type of news reporting would either be collecting Social Security or would have died before all of the news reports could be presented detailing racist acts of these racists.
And that’s just if 1% of the people living in the United States who identify as White were racists.
These examples are used to illustrate that those who control decisions in the news media can focus on a specific issue or a group of specific issues, present news that is accurate and factual, yet not necessarily present the truth.
When you have a population that exceeds 331 million people, you can always find news about acts that are morally and ethically wrong as well as acts that are illegal under current laws and regulations.
When you have a population that exceeds 331 million people, you can always find news about acts that are morally and ethically right as well as acts that are legal under current laws and regulations.
Some in the news media focus on the first approach. Few in the news media focus on the second approach.
The next news column in this series will focus on how statistics and numbers are utilized in reporting news.
Peirspictiochtai Ar A Saol – Gaelic – Irish – for “Perspectives On Life” is a column focused on aspects of accountability and responsibility as well as ways people look at life.
Contact Richard McDonough at
© 2025 Richard McDonough
