| − | To '''spike''' a news story is to "kill" it by choosing not to run it. The metaphor refers to placing pieces of paper on a spike. [[Arnaud de Borchgrave]], former chief editor of ''[[The Washington Times]]'', wrote a novel called ''[[The Spike]]'' in which spiking figures heavily. | + | To '''spike''' a news story is to "kill" it by choosing not to run it. The metaphor refers to placing pieces of paper on a spike. In particular, spiking is often used to describe news stories that are suppressed for [[political]] or [[deceit]]ful motives, biasing the news by reporting only what supports a particular agenda. |