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SpinSpotter is a new startup that aims to scan news stories for signs of “spin”. Users can download “Spinoculars”, a toolbar located on their browser that lets them know if the story they are reading has any phrases or words that indicate bias. It highlights those words in red and allows users to click on them to find out exactly why SpinSpotter has flagged them.

The tool works in three ways, says founder Todd Herman. First, it uses an algorithm to discover phrases that violate any of the six transgressions that the company’s journalism advisory board came up with based on the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. These are personal voice, passive voice, a biased source, disregarded context, selective disclosure and lack of balance. SpinSpotter’s algorithm also uses a database of common phrases that are used when spinning a story. Finally, readers themselves can flag instances of “spin”.

Currently, because SpinSpotter has started out with very few phrases in its database of spin, it rarely flags articles. “Referring to something as spin is a pretty serious thing. We don’t want to go through vandalizing properties. We would like to do this responsibly,” says Herman. Alright, so I understand that bias in the media and the news can be a problem, but do we really need a web tool to help us recognize this fact? If it only highlights writing that is flagrantly biased, can’t we just discern that ourselves? And if you can’t, you probably need more help than a simple web tool can provide.

As internet users become more and more dependent on blogs and news aggregators to get their daily news fix, it seems to me that we enjoy reading articles and posts that are written from an angle and that present a point of view. This doesn’t mean that we agree with the point of view, but rather that we like to understand the “so what?” in regards to any given topic. In fact, when I read several news stories I often find complete objectivity inappropriate and useless. Part of the beauty of information exchange is that we expect to be given some direction as to how to think about a subject by those that are experts or more knowledgeable about any given topic. We are then free to agree, disagree, debate, discuss, explore, etc.

Voice, tone, point of view- these are the components that make up the character of any piece of writing. These are the elements that making writing and expression such an art. Learning to separate opinions and bias from facts and figures is part of the academic journey. Additionally, the algorithm is especially limited because it can spot phrases but can’t account for context or tone. How can we rely on a rudimentary algorithm to inform us of “spin”? That sounds like indolence at its worst. Plus, who wants big red boxes all over the article being read. That sounds like more of a distraction than a help.

Finally, a philosophical concern: in choosing to highlight certain phrases and words, the application is itself being subjective. “I’m not a slave to objectivity. I’m never quite sure what it means. And it means different things to different people.” -Peter Jennings

That said, I guess there are some potential uses for SpinSpotter. Perhaps it could be employed as a teaching tool in English classes to help facilitate lessons on bias and point of view. Or maybe it could be used to help train newscasters who often have to report “this just in” news on the fly? Maybe.

I wonder what this post would look like if I viewed it through a pair of Spinoculars…

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 13th, 2008 at 10:37 pm and is filed under Company Zeroes and Heroes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.