h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/22/politicians-celebrities-social-media-nigella-lawson

"One problem is that the media landscape is structurally hostile to nuance, whether it's the gladiatorial debate format favoured by the likes of the Today programme [and PM, and Newsnight], the pressure to generate kneejerk opinions at short notice, or the sheer volume of websites recycling unsourced, out-of-context and even mistranslated quotes."

"...the internet amplifies and facilitates the impulse to think the worst of people you have never met and to ignore any facts or context that might take the wind out of your indignation."

"Even as we complain about the milky timidity of political discourse, we are, en masse, quite prepared to pounce on anyone who says the wrong thing. We are gaffe-addicted, desperate for the smoking gun even if it's more like a dribbling water-pistol."

And just to illustrate some of those points: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/24/lord-mcalpine-libel-alan-davies

Here's another example, and on its own it might seem quite innocuous.

"'Good Samaritan' gets parking ticket while helping cyclist"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-24653390

It would be innocuous if the media wasn't so fond of stories similar to this one - stories where someone has been punished for doing good, where an authority figure has overstepped their bounds, where a local council has done something apparently daft, where something that's been happening for years has been done away with for 'health and safety reasons' or where a company has made some kind of mistake and done something like sending someone a bill for hundreds of thousands/millions.

This one in particular is a lost opportunity for a feelgood story. The story could just as easily have read "Good Samaritan's parking ticket cancelled by council" and focussed more on how the council did the right thing.

At least no-one demanded or offered an apology