Skewing the Facts

Public opinion is easily mislead, so why is it that media outlets feel the need to report only the facts they feel relevant to topics and they believe will make for a better story?

Cracked.com did a recent article about 6 misconceptions that people believe about America, and in understanding the facts, it seems that everything was linked back to how the facts were reported. Is it that easy to mislead and sway public opinion just so the story can get better rating? What are your thoughts?