. . to read Dan Froomkin.
This is a long essay and I'm not going to try to summarize it. But just so you know what it's about:
Misinformation, disinformation and gaslighting have become rampant in our political discourse, turning citizens against each other, choking the legislative process, eroding confidence in elections, and, in the age of Covid, literally getting people killed. A striking number of voters are laboring under a series of delusions that make them incapable of rational decision-making. The country is still reeling from a violent attempted coup in the name of a Big Lie – a lie that has essentially become doctrine for one of our two major political parties.
Despite all this, our elite political media recognizes no need for a course change.
Indeed, even after four years of Trump — and his continued domination of the party — there has been essentially no self-reflection from the reporters and editors who set the tone for national news coverage. They just keep doing what they’ve done for decades: remain aloof and detached from the urgent and crucial political issues that underly the partisan divide, so intent on covering the play-by-play and “not taking sides” that they have refused to scream out the truth. As a result, they’re being drowned out by the lies.
Froomkin proposes solutions. Let us know what you think. And Froomkin is proposing that journalists distinguish between truth and lies. Giving equal credence to both is not "balance."
5 comments:
Busy work week … the dogs are still snoozing … but very much looking forward to reading the article you’re sharing. Only waking up & truth can save this sick and wayward country.
Anybody: What does Froomkin mean when he says, “ The thing to keep in mind is that the lying is the news, not the lie”?
Seems obvious to me.Instead of writing a story about "Shape of the Earth: Views Differ," write a story about "The earth is actually an oblate spheroid but Senator Throckmorton falsely claims it is flat." Done.
Merci beaucoup.
Oh yeah "balance"
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