The problems of loaded language in journalism have eroded professional credibility over the years, and yet the journalist has a bounty of empirical and psychological tools to counter disinformation and propaganda by the use of the word alone. What are the best practices for investigative journalists to interview and present information in an emotionally literate manner? How and why is loaded language used, and how can a reporter counter attempts at gaslighting and manipulation? How does the profession reinvent the interview to connect to audiences through multiple literacies? Drawing from studies in the social sciences, this definitive book looks at the primal, emotional, and analytical aspects of words and their neurobiological effect on audiences, as it shows how to avoid loaded language, spin, propaganda, atmosphere, narrative, and sophistry.
