Media Spin

The Oxford English Dictionary added the term "spin doctor" in their 1993 draft addition, and defines it as: "A political press agent or publicist employed to promote a favourable interpretation of events to journalists." But I believe it was in common use much earlier. In 1986, a column for the New York Times Magazine says this: "It is based on the slang meaning of the verb to spin, which in the 1950s meant to deceive, perhaps influenced by 'to spin a yarn'. More recently, as a noun, spin has come to mean 'twist', or 'interpretation'; when a pitcher puts a spin on a baseball, he causes it to curve, and when we put our own spin on a story, we angle it to suit our predilections or interests."