Gotcha Media
A second-rate burglary turned into a presidential resignation, all due to the serendipity of two low-level reporters, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Since that fateful Saturday morning, the relationship between the press and politicians has been dramatically altered. Up until that point, the media knew the truth about what was going on behind the scenes at the White House and in Congress, but often let it slide with a wink and a nod. There was no need to highlight FDR’s useless legs, Dwight’s bad heart, or even JFK’s secret trysts. Within the press corps all these were well known “secrets” that didn’t qualify as news.
Maybe it was out of respect for the office, or the person, or even national security, but it ended with Watergate. Journalism school enrollment jumped with every would-be Bernstein and Woodward dreaming of a Pulitzer and the opportunity to pull down a presidency. And so it continues.
In a democratic country a free and independent press is absolutely necessary. However, the current press has for the most part morphed the independent component into opinion. More often than not, what is presented as a ‘news’ story carries a bias based on idealogical leanings of the reporter or the ownership of his outlet. Depending on which side the consumer positions himself, he sees either CNN as the Clinton News Network or Fox as the mouth-piece of the Republicans
Where does the average citizen find the truth? Listen and listen carefully, read and analyze what is reported as facts, and think and decide where logic falls. Many have become deluded into believing what they see or hear as “news” is actually objective. That is no longer a guarantee or even a generalization. Discovering the veracity of an issue requires work and not dependence on a particular news channel, blog, radio station, or newspaper. Be aware that an agenda is often behind what produced for public consumption and that freedom of speech is not the same thing as freedom of press.
