I went to a book reading/ Q & A session with author James Frey recently, which threw up some pretty interesting ideas on the media. Labelled by Time Magazine as ‘America’s Most Notorious Author’, Frey garnered international attention when it was revealed that his published memoir ‘A Million Little Pieces’ contained a number of factual inaccuracies.

An audience member asked Frey what he thought of the very public slamming he got in the US media. The interest was understandable given the nasty backlash he received - it’s not often someone can lay claim to the fact that they got trashed by Oprah. Then again, it’s not often you get someone like Frey, who simply commented that he ‘couldn’t give a f#$k’.

Frey went on to argue that he set out to write ‘a piece of art, a work of literature’ and as such shouldn’t be held to the same standards of factual accuracy as journalists or historians. A fascinating add-on was his comment (and I paraphrase) that the New York Times, which is so revered and regarded as the great purveyor of truth, printed many more lies about him than he ever did about himself.

The underlying premise was that the audience should (and does) expect journalists to stick to the facts, but authors should be afforded a more generous scope for creativity. Whether or not you agree with the latter statement, it was the former that most piqued my interest.

The fact is that most people inherently trust their chosen media sources and assume that what is written is correct. Don’t get me wrong, we may be sceptical when reading about Britney’s latest scandal or Brangelina’s septuplets in the trashy magazines, but I suspect we are somewhat less critical when reviewing the latest banking news in the Fin. While I am certainly not suggesting that the media has morphed into a bunch of bald-faced liars, I do believe that having ‘blind faith’ in the media can be dangerous.

In this day and age where information is so prevalent and accessible, I believe the onus has shifted from the publication to the public - it is our own responsibility to seek different viewpoints and make an informed decision. We can no longer stand up and defend the validity of our viewpoints by saying ‘but I read it in the paper, it must be true!’ Not that a pesky little thing like the truth has ever been known to get in the way of the dedicated soapbox crusader…

- Jacqui Flint