Is it just the media we shouldn't trust

John Robinson raises a good point over on his blog where he says

I wouldn't say "don't trust." It closes the door too soundly. Instead, I encourage skepticism. And I don't restrict it to the media. I advise people to be skeptical, period

His thoughts come as a response to a letter he recieved from a college lecturer who said

I teach critical reading skills to my college students. We look at a text and ask ourselves: Who is the writer? What is the writer's purpose? What is the text saying? How does word choice impact the reader? Does the writer succeed? Students realize that all texts have an agenda, no matter how subtle.

For John the bottom line in all this is

Every source should be questioned, no matter how esteemed. Does the story make sense? Sound unbelievable? Photos can be Photoshopped. Video can be tricked