Lot's of scary things are happening in the world, but I'm here to reassure (or is it just to disagree with?) you that biased journalism isn't one of them. You, the true historian in this conversation, can no doubt cite endless examples of one-sided, distorted, mendacious, bigoted, sinister-purposed and violence-inciting reportage since the birth of the Republic. The media's earnest and self-congratulatory insistence that it seeks objective truth is a polite fiction at best and a laughable delusion at worst. Even if I can't watch it for more than 30 seconds, Fox News is important. Not because it's "fair and balanced" (it's not) but because it tells different stories from different points of view than the "fake news" your faithful correspondent holds so dear.
The Founders believed that as long as everyone gets their say the truth will eventually emerge. I believe they had it right. Fox, Sinclair Broadcasting, the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Commentary, the American Spectator (I could go on but you get the point) certainly aren't ignoring the President's voice. The President, who can't stand any coverage that doesn't obsequiously flatter him, has other ideas. If, in some apocalyptic alternate universe, Trump could have his way with the 1st Amendment, he's given us a pretty idea of what he' do with it.
Several billion citizens around the world would gladly trade their fake news for ours. The folks who ought to be scared, and yet who somehow are not, are the journalists who try to report in such times from such places.
Eli
No comments:
Post a Comment