The Media Rant

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.