Almost everything that is reported at the time turns out to be bullshit
Author and columnist for The Nation Eric Alterman writes:
“One thing journalists can learn in reading Caro—or Balzac for that matter—is that almost everything that is reported at the time turns out to be bullshit when the truth is finally known. So much of what we call “news” is a fiction we tell ourselves for comfort. That’s what history teaches anyway, but people keep falling for it because they need the illusion to keep going.”[From Read These Books! via MediaBistro.com]