First, the bad news...

One of the simplest techniques used by the Mainstream Media to shape the news is pseudo-narrative sequencing. If you're reporting on A, which you approve of, and B, which you loathe, put B first in the bulletin, then follow it up with the 'good' story, which will have the effect of cancelling out the bad thing, and positioning it as a freak, an aberration which has happily been set right.

For two nights running, SBS TV news has used a report on the new far-left government of Evo Morales in Bolivia as a kind of mouthwash, to sweeten Mary Kostakidis' breath after forcing her to report the success of conservative parties elsewhere (Portugal one night, Canada the next). In both cases, the two stories were run together as a sequence, for no obvious reason other than SBS' need to follow poison with antidote.

Another version of this sequencing rule applies when running a string of vox-pop soundbites. How many times have I heard this on ABC radio? If you have Mr. Iraqi-in-the-street, feel free to have one or two saying something like "Yes, we are happy to have democracy", but always, always make sure that the last soundbite goes to the guy saying "The Americans are just as bad as Saddam".