Now that many people are in
hindsight mode, let me weigh in on a subject that must be discussed far into
the future: what has happened to “the media”.
I don’t lump all media
together in one pot. There are fantastic
reporters out there doing exemplary, fair-minded work for stalwart media
organizations. There are
politically-charged, left-or-right leaning outlets from which you only get one side of the story, and all information not supporting those views is
ignored or skewed with a pointed attitude.
There are completely false stories circulated by unscrupulous media with
dangerous, libelous intentions.
But we can’t blame the media
for holding our opinions hostage – because news is a two-way street. It takes someone to produce a story, and someone
to believe it is true. Once that
transaction is complete, the damage is done.
Minds are made up. Thoughts and
actions are controlled. The cautionary
“grain of salt” is often ignored. Our
first amendment is sacred, but we must employ open-mindedness, we must be
willing to at least give opposing viewpoints a listen. And we must dig deeper into the meaning of
truth itself, because it is not a simple concept.
Otherwise we are simply
mental slaves to whatever is printed, broadcast or posted, we become pawns to
unscrupulous, fact-free rants. And we
fall victim to believing exclusively the viewpoints we already agree with, unwilling
to acknowledge inconvenient realities.
Specifically, I want to
address the 2016 presidential campaign because what went on horrified me as a
journalist. Never has baseless rhetoric
and hyped-up hyperbole ruled so relentlessly, and never have so many
journalists avoided digging for story details that might have clarified the
candidates’ statements, or even exposed them as lies. Mr. Trump in particular was allowed to rave on
and on at his endless rallies, making outrageous statements, often total lies
that were rarely questioned, which provided him perhaps a billion dollars of unadulterated
airtime. In the follow-up panels, CNN’s
moderators should have just brought a bowl of popcorn and watched the
proceedings like a bad movie, since they rarely if ever asked a probing
question.
Look, I used to do media
training for corporate officers, and I understand the rule that “when
interviewed, no matter what they ask, your answer is always one of your policy
statements”. But if someone doesn’t
provide a straight answer, a good journalist does not merely say “thank you for
being on the show”, he or she goes to solid non-political and neutral sources
to see if the facts add up.
Today Mr. Trump tweeted that
he won the election in spite of “millions of people
who voted illegally.” Many news
organizations regurgitated this as if it was the truth; then, the tweet was
immediately re-shared thousands of times.. The statement was a blatant lie, but
you can see how Trump gets away with by-passing the media, appealing directly
to millions of idiots who believe everything he says. Those who say Facebook and Twitter had no
bearing on the election results are simply not paying attention. Moving forward, Trump’s tweets could have
extreme consequences in controlling information about serious national
issues. It’s a potential dictatorship on
steroids.
I have written
many times about the Russian connection with Wikileaks, and how it helped Trump
win, but it bears repeating. Trump kept
telling us that “nobody knows” where all the stolen materials came from (which
the media faithfully reported each day, never able to substantiate the actual
source), even though the CIA told him directly that the hackers were working for
the highest level of Russian intelligence, and that Putin clearly knew about
them. “I love Wikileaks!” he proclaimed
at one rally, which is akin to encouraging illegal hacking and attempted
control of our nation’s election by our enemies. If the shoe had been on the other foot, I
think his whining about a “rigged election” would have risen to a deafening crescendo.
In fact 70% of
Trump’s statements, according to PolitiFact, were lies. Some of the biggest whoppers:
“I can’t
release my tax returns.”
“Global
warming is a hoax created by the Chinese.”
“Obama is not
a U.S. citizen.”
“I was against
the war in Iraq.”
“The
unemployment rate is 42 percent.”
“30 million
undocumented immigrants live in the U.S.”
“Clinton was
asleep during the Benghazi attack.”
“Inner City
crime is at record levels.”
“I am a friend
of the LGBT community.”
“I have never
been a racist.”
“I will get
all of the mining jobs back.”
“I will start
an investigation and put Hillary Clinton in jail.”
There are scores
more ridiculous half-lies and BS that he blurted out on a whim, often followed by
the ironic plea “believe me”. But
instead of searching for truth, the media during the entire campaign was
largely a mouthpiece for Russian intelligence and the unfiltered web of lies
perpetrated by Trump. To me, that is not
the definition of “journalism” but of a reality show with scary real-life
consequences, produced solely to grab ratings and readership. In this case, the media played a significant
role in electing Donald J. Trump, a guy who claims to “hate” the media unless
he can control them. He’s done a hell of
a job so far.
