Barriers between the public and the truth...

The events that are discussed at any press conference are subject to what Lippman might call fictionalization by the modes of communication that they are passed along to the public. The events being discussed have passed through analysts, advisors, and public relations experts before even reaching the conference. Once this "pseudo-reality" is passed on to the press, a number of variations are imposed upon the original content, changing it further to serve each medium's needs. Not that this necessarily is an intentional attempt to mold the story, although sometimes it certainly is. Lippman says that "the real environment is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance" and that "we have to reconstruct it on a simpler model before we can manage with it." Therefore as information is passed through the various levels of communication, it is edited, cropped and simplified for the masses.