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Sunday, July 24
Counterpoint Extra: Introducing the "Hyman Index"
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 24 Jul 2005 04:00 AM CDT
Counterpoint Extra: Introducing the "Hyman Index"
The rational counter to "The Point," "The Counterpoint"
critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate
vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television
stations across the country.
by Ted Remington
In previous installments of “The Counterpoint,” we’ve seen
examples of how Mark Hyman often uses propaganda techniques to make his
arguments. Given the central role these tactics play in his rhetoric, I thought
it helpful to come up with a way of A) pointing out that nearly every edition
of “The Point” makes use of standard propaganda techniques, and B) comparing
individual “Point” commentaries to each other in terms of how much they rely on
propaganda techniques.
The result is what I’m calling the Hyman Index.
The basic formula is to count up the number of statements in
a given commentary that are examples of propaganda techniques (P) and divide
this number by the length of the commentary in words (W), not counting the
obligatory signoff (i.e., “And that’s The Point.”). The result is then
multiplied by 100 and rounded to the nearest one hundredth (P/W * 100).
This allows us to get a fairly objective read on how much of
the content of a given commentary is devoted to propagandistic appeals.
The major variable is what one counts as propaganda
techniques. There are any number of lists of emotional appeals and examples of
misleading or faulty logic that we could use. I think the best approach,
however, is to keep things simple. In my count, I’m using the list drawn up in
the 1930s by the Institute of Propaganda
Analysis. Their list of different types of
appeals is fairly short, and some might argue that the categories are overly
broad as a result. However, I think using an abbreviated list will make things
easier to understand and will allow us to more easily discriminate between
persuasive appeals and true propaganda (some lists of propaganda techniques are
so vast and detailed that almost any statement more subjective than a
mathematical equation would fall under one of the categories).
The IPA list is as follows:
Word Games
Name-calling
Glittering generalities
Euphemisms
False connections
Transfer
Testimonial
Special Appeals
Plain Folks
Bandwagon
Fear
Logical fallacies
Bad Logic or propaganda?
Unwarranted extrapolation
For our purposes, logical fallacies will include fairly
standard examples of bad logic, such as post hoc reasoning and “slippery slope”
arguments.
So let’s see the Hyman index in action! Here’s the text of a
“Point” commentary from a week ago that I didn’t comment on at the time because
it was taken off of the Newscentral website, then suddenly reappeared. I’ve
placed the names of propaganda appeals in brackets after the relevant statements.
I’ve tried to be as generous as I can with Hyman’s rhetoric; you might feel I’m
being a bit stingy in what I’m labeling propaganda. You might also not agree
with my particular label, given that the IPA categories are broad enough that
there is bound to be some overlap. However, I’ve tried to be as reasonable and
careful as I can in making my calls.
Earlier this month the Portland,
Maine School Committee adopted a policy
that advocates discrimination. [NAME CALLING]
The committee voted 6-3 to direct its lawyer to rewrite the
policy regarding the distribution of fliers to students. Their intention is to
ban Boy Scouts literature. The reason? The Boy Scouts do not allow openly
homosexual Scouts or leaders. The city of Portland has an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
You know those nasty old Boy Scouts. They've been the
scourge of American society for years. [PLAIN FOLKS]
So what's next? Banning evangelical Christian, Catholic and
Muslim students because of their religious views on sexual orientation? Will
servicemen and women family members be banned from attending school functions
because of the military's policies? [UNWARRANTED EXTRAPOLATION]
The city's website proudly displays a colorful boast that
"Portland [is] where diversity
works." But this is code meaning that only a narrow set of views are
accepted. [NAME CALLING] Fail to embrace them and you are banished forever.
[FEAR]
You don't have to agree with the Boy Scouts' policy on the
exclusion of openly homosexual Scouts and leaders to recognize theirs is but
one viewpoint. In other words diversity. [BANDWAGON]
The irony is that tailoring a policy to ban certain groups -
groups such as the Boy Scouts that have accomplished more good than most - is
just an officially sanctioned form of discrimination. [NAME CALLING]
You can share your views with the Portland School Committee
at (207) 874-8100 or at superintendent@portlandschools.org.
Dividing the number of propagandistic appeals Hyman uses (7)
by the number of total words in the commentary, multiplying by 100, and then
rounding to the hundredths place, we get a Hyman Index of 2.98. After doing a
number of test runs on other editions of the commentary, this seems to be about
average (the range being from about 1.5 to 4.5).
I’ll include a Hyman Index, whenever applicable, to future
Counterpoints and comment on them when they reveal something particularly interesting.
(Source)
Saturday, July 9
The Counterpoint Translates 'Hymanspeak'
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 09 Jul 2005 07:49 AM CDT
The Counterpoint Translates 'Hymanspeak'
The rational counter to "The Point," "The Counterpoint"
critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate
vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television
stations across the country.
by Iowa's Ted Remington
Hyman
loves to try to portray progressives and liberals as hypocrites by
accusing them of participating in exactly the same sorts of
narrow-mindedness they criticize in conservatism. Hyman’s latest
attempt is his explanation of what he terms “euphemisms” of the left.
Through his bizarre definitions, he charges liberals with being racist,
anti-Semitic, and intolerant. (Paging Dr. Freud . . . Doctor Sigmund
Freud . . . A severe case of projection in Baltimore, Maryland.)
Hyman
offers no examples of anyone using these terms in the euphemistic way
he claims they are. I can’t say that I know anyone who defines these
words the way Hyman does, either. I won’t speak for others, but below
I’ve described what I mean when I use the phrases Hyman defines.
Afterward, I offer a list of terms culled from nearly a year of
Counterpoints that are tried and true examples of Hymanspeak and
offered translations for you English speakers out there.
Affirmative
Action: policies that attempt to provide a level playing field by
counteracting hundreds of years of discrimination that artificially
kept talented and motivated people from realizing their full potential.
Neoconservative:
a politician, government official, or public intellectual who believes,
among other things, that democracy is best spread through unilateral
military action and that the U.S. should ignore its commitments to
other countries when they seem bothersome.
Diversity:
The range of experiences, beliefs, and personal backgrounds that has
led the United States to be the most culturally vibrant nation in the
world.
Tolerance:
Accepting the right of others to be who they are, including the right
to be bigoted; does not include the right to openly discriminate
against others on the basis of that bigotry.
Undocumented
immigrants: people who entered the U.S. illegally, but who are not
themselves “illegal.” Actions can be illegal; individual people are not.
Patriotism:
love of the ideals and people of your nation without respect to
specific policies of those currently in power; OR willingness to speak
and act in the best interest of your country even if it contradicts the
positions of those in power.
Hymanspeak to English Translations
War on Terror: Preemptive invasion of Iraq (which, by the way, had no ties to 9/11, Osama bin Laden, or al-Qaeda).
Non-partisan: conservative
Partisan: reporting facts that conservatives would rather you not know about
Flat tax: work tax in which working people bear the greatest tax burden
Sales tax: consumption tax in which working people bear the greatest tax burden
Tax simplification: making the tax system more regressive
Middle class: those making over $100,000
Immigrant: brown person
Terrorist: brown person with a gun (or, sometimes, just a brown person)
Liberal: anyone who disagrees with Hyman
“Hate America crowd”: anyone who disagrees with Hyman
“The Angry left”: anyone who disagrees with Hyman
Communists: anyone who disagrees with Hyman
Whack-jobs: anyone who disagrees with Hyman
Elite: People with education and/or money who aren't conservatives.
Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys: The people who saved our bacon in the American Revolution and gave us the Statue of Liberty.
Liberal
media: the corporate owned media controlled by a handful of giant
conglomerations and run by those with a vested interest in maintaining
the status quo and pursuing a conservative economic agenda.
Local news: Prefabricated news from Sinclair headquarters in Baltimore
News: Partisan propaganda (when applied to “Stolen Honor”)
Disgruntled Employee: Principled employee (Jon Lieberman)
Tolerance: allowing the majority’s opinions and values to trump those of the minority
Supporting the troops: supporting the Bush administration, even when its actions harm the soldiers and help the terrorists
Supporting
the terrorists: criticizing the Bush administration, even when its
actions hurt the soldiers and help the terrorists; OR reporting news
stories that suggest anything is less than hunky-dory in Iraq
Dishonoring the troops: Honoring the troops
Koppelgate:
Sinclairgate—Sinclair’s decision to order its ABC stations not to run
the episode of Nightline honoring troops that died in Iraq which
prompted condemnation from Democrats, Republicans, families of the
troops, Sinclair’s own viewers, etc.
Public Interest: the interest of the Bush administration and/or Sinclair Broadcasting
Maryland
Governor Bob Ehrlich: longtime friend to Sinclair Broadcasting, former
employer of Mark Hyman when he was a Representative, receiver of
illegal campaign contributions from Sinclair Broadcasting executives,
and unethical lobbyist for deregulation of broadcast ownership rules
that benefit Sinclair.
Academia:
college teachers of courses in the humanities and some social sciences
(although not the hard sciences, economics, business, engineering,
etc.) who teach critical thinking skills, present students with new
ideas, and prompt them to self-reflection
Fringe thinker: yours truly, along with anyone else who disagrees with Hyman
And that's The Counterpoint.
You can
experience "The Point" by tuning in to your "local" evening "news" program on
KGAN-TV Channel 2 in eastern Iowa or KDSM Channel 17 in the Des Moines/Ames
area.
Mark
Hyman
Join these Iowa Media Reform groups:
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