I am not sure when the mainstream media walked away from journalism, but please understand you’re killing this world! If what you want to stand for is division using your purchased air time for pushing political agendas, giving yourselves to hyperbole, conjectures, or injecting your own opinions, well then, that is fine—and I’m sure Hollywood will welcome another reality show. Just please stop calling yourselves a “news source.” Having a talk show is great, just please quit calling your rhetoric “truth and news.” Some people hold so close to your agenda as truth and news, that it is causing a negative outcome. So please have the courtesy to start your air time with a phrase like, “This is our opinion. If we include any bits of news, they will be convoluted with our own biases and opinions.”
When you misdirect the public, as you do, all you cause is fear, division, and hatred. Partial truths are still lies and are words of hate. The power in your hands can help us come together as a “world” people. Guiding us to move forward rather than backward. For the past four years, it feels like we went back to the 1950s with segregation, hatred, and bias. Collectively, we need to walk away from words that cause fear, misdirection, and anger. We need your influence to help everyone embrace one another, accept one another as we are—on our own journeys through this life. As we all are aware, life is a struggle and we need to stop being so nearsighted. We need to quit pushing our own self-centered agendas and be more concerned about our brothers and sisters of this world and “blend.” Please take the opportunity with this virus outbreak as an avenue to show the world you’re interested in us the people, rather than your ratings.
Kevin Matea
Creston
This article appears in Mar 19-29, 2020.
I think there is something to the idea that the media has lost at least some of it’s journalistic integrity. I think there have always been problems in this area. One issue is the selection of the events covered. Another is separation of reporting from opinion.
Selection of coverage has always been an issue, and it remains an issue. Part of this may be due to political bias, and part is definitely due to the desire to increase circulation or improve ratings. This means that some stories will get more attention because they are in line with the views of the publisher or station/network owner, while others will get less. Some stories may also get more coverage because they are sensational. That is why we sometimes get 24 hour coverage of disasters or investigations when there is really nothing new or significant to report. In the meantime there is very little analysis of proposed legislation or the impact of actions by governments and the private sector. An example is the Trump tax cut. There has been some anecdotal coverage of the impact but little, if any, real analysis of the impact. Who are the winners and losers? Few, if any, really know. What about fracking? How big a problem is it? Is it always bad? Is it sometimes safe? How realistic is it to think that we could do away with fossil fuels or at least significantly reduce our reliance on them? What would be the national, regional, and local economic impact if we did. These are just examples. There are so many areas in which the public could use, and may even be thirsting for, unbiased analysis instead of sensationalist hyperbole.
The print media generally does a pretty good job of separating reporting from opinion. There are obvious exceptions, but generally hometown newspapers, big city newspapers and many magazines try to identify articles that are opinion by putting them into opinion or editorial sections or otherwise labeling them. TV news on the cable channels is very bad about this. There is little, if any distinction made between reporting and opinion.
Radio is a whole different ball game.Some stations try to report news or to be objective, but many are little more than hate mongers, attempting to stir up listeners of one persuasion or another.
In the meantime the economics of journalism are constantly changing and pushing us away from objective journalism, and towards sensationalism and bias. This is a very unhealthy trend.
Please don’t try to sell us the line that the Free Press is bad for America. What’s bad for America is ‘the people’ attacking free speech that doesn’t include the right to religious bigotry.
If you have a problem with the ‘mainstream media’ then I suggest the real problem is with your need to be validated by the news.
Good for Mr. Matea! He is absolutely correct. Let’s post and write in all media! Conservative values and ideas always win out when put up against the mental illness that is liberalism. We the people will write and post in all media, flooding your papers and airways and websites as you flood the world with disinformation. We will use their tools to bring to light the ideas that will make our country greater and more prosperous.