Not all newspapers lean the same way in politicsDate: 7/14/2020 I think it’s human nature to use generalities. Instead of speaking about one action or one person, there is a tendency to bring out a very broad brush and paint everyone.
It’s easy. It’s lazy to call a whole group of people names as it can easily spread hatred and distrust.
In this day and age we must be as specific as possible for one reason: taking the shotgun approach isn’t truly going to solve problems.
I’ll give you an example close to home. Two weeks ago I wrote a column about being angry at how some people have reacted to the pandemic and to the Black Lives Matter movement.
I received a number of positive emails, but I also receive several critical ones. In the case of the critical ones, I replied to the writers and asked if they wanted their letter published. One did, one didn’t. I asked the reader to edit her letter to our word count of 500 words, which she did.
Even though we disagree, both of us acted in a responsible, civil manner. Today, even if there isn’t common ground, being respectful is vital.
I try not to put people of a certain political or social viewpoint into a box and now perhaps this reader will take the same approach.
One of the statements that bother me the most is when people say “the media.” What are they talking about?
There is a myth about how all of us are in some sort of lockstep. The decision-makers at national media somehow operate with the same political bent as I do. We coordinate our coverage and maintain the same political slant. We get a daily list of commands from George Soros and we all have a secret decoder ring.
All of the statements in the previous paragraph are not true. I would like a secret decoder ring, though.
I get it. If you read or see or hear something that messes with your core beliefs you want to label it “fake news.” It’s an easy way to dismiss something.
The truth is not all newspapers lean the same way politically. That is a fact. Take a look at a study conducted at Boston University concerning coverage of the 2016 elections. It’s at https://library.bu.edu/c.php?g=617120&p=4452935. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
The result of their study is there were plenty of newspapers with a conservative editorial page.
The study’s introduction reported, “Labels such as ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ are subjective, but newspapers and news magazines have a choice in both how they report events and where they position them, signaling to readers the relative importance of a particular event in the news cycle. You can tell a lot about a news publication’s political leanings from what they publish; where they place the event (front page or buried on page 12); and which editorial columns they choose to run, among other criteria.”
And not all media sources handle things the same way. For instance, I don’t make endorsements. Everyone on this staff treats candidates fairly as they can. Sometimes, candidates or elected officials don’t like what we do but most seem to understand we are trying to be as objective as possible.
If you see “fake news,” here please let me know about it at news@thereminder.com.
Here is what I’m asking people to consider doing: if you see something reported in the press, don’t leap onto Facebook and trumpet some broad statement about “fake news.” Instead be specific in your criticism. Explain why the story may be wrong. Cite your reasons and your sources in your determination.
If you prefer simply to insult as many people as you can with some broad and inaccurate generality then ask yourself what’s your point in doing so. What does it accomplish? Perhaps it makes you feel better for the moment.
Being angry every now and then is human nature. And Heaven knows, I am just a flawed human being. The only way we can find solutions to problems, in my humble opinion, is through finding common ground.
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