To wash out the taste of totally justified violence against political enemies let’s look at a journalist who doesn’t realize that today’s journalism is all about making sure stupid Americans know how to think.
Two weeks ago, I wrote a column about what Donald Trump calls “the dishonest media,” and I did so because as a member of the news media myself, I feel a sense of obligation to hold my profession to the same standard of accountability that I would expect for any public servants.
This guy obviously didn’t go to the Columbia School of ‘Journalism’ so doesn’t know what ‘journalism’ is all about.
Unfortunately, when I was working on the copy desk putting out the Sunday paper last week, I was so shocked by a story that I changed my plans for this column…..
The story, which passed muster at the Associated Press and no doubt made its way into hundreds of newspapers and probably thousands of websites, was a report on a Trump rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Oct. 13.
It was so astoundingly biased that I had to extensively edit the story to remove the reporter’s personal opinions before running it on the following day’s front page.
It gets better.
Here’s the first paragraph as spewed by a Minitrue outlet in good standing.
A beleaguered Donald Trump sought to undermine the legitimacy of the U.S. presidential election on Saturday, pressing unsubstantiated claims the contest is rigged against him, vowing anew to jail Hillary Clinton if he’s elected and throwing in a baseless insinuation his rival was on drugs in the last debate.”
Here’s how a real journalist would write the same information.
“A beleaguered Donald Trump questioned the legitimacy of the U.S. presidential election on Saturday, pressing claims the contest is rigged against him, vowing anew to jail Hillary Clinton if he’s elected and throwing in an insinuation that his rival was on drugs in the last debate.”
Huh. What happened to all the value-based adjectives and helpful insinuations? They’re the core of any good, straight news story!
Look at the comments, there are only a few but some are pretty funny (obtuse and angry). My favorite? Glad you asked.
Wouldn’t you agree that a reporter has the role of not only baldly reporting what was said but also to put in into context and add an objective and logical reasoning to the content and intent (of a speaker)?…
No. A journalist baldly reports the facts, op-eds and editorials are where they “put context”.
I wonder, would the people who think that way be happy if someone put “context” into some of the hateful, arrogant and dishonest things the Golden Cow spews?
Actually, I don’t wonder, I just like making myself laugh.
Yesterday I was looking at the AP styleguide I bought for a journalism class in college and wondered who used it anymore.
Now I know. Frank Miele in Montana, he probably got a bunch of them out of a dumpster somewhere.
via Weasel Zippers
doubleplusundead 