108 How to Win Every Argument(Guess which side of the border the reporter comes from?)What goes for the sports section applies even more to the leader
page.The public can distinguish Labour bribes from Tory pledges.
(They can certainly distinguish whose side the writer is on.)Public affairs programmes on television are great fun for the
connoisseur of loaded words. There is an unfortunate conflict of
interests. They want to present material to make you share their
prejudices; their authority requires at least some semblance of
objectivity and balance. While blatant bias does occur, the
satisfaction comes in spotting the loaded words at a slightly
more insidious level. Which side has 'terrorists', for example, and
which has 'freedom-fighters?' Which countries have a govern-
ment and which a regime?
When you are in the situation of trying to persuade people,
you will find loaded words most useful. Your verbal picture
shows the bleak outlook of one alternative, and contrasts it with
the rosy setting which results from the other. Your listeners need
never know that you could have done it just as easily the other
way round.
Would you rather believe the careful words of an internationally
respected columnist, or the incoherent ramblings of a well-known hack?
Are you not moved by the just case which is even now being voiced by
thousands of concerned demonstrators outside this very building?
I'm not going to be taken in by the bleatings of a mob.When describing actions, remember to load your words in
such a way that even to observers who know nothing of the