The Washington Post has adopted the slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness." That is intended to be a criticism of the statements of President Donald Trump, who has labeled some members of the media "the enemy of the public" and for the combative attitude the President and members of his Administration have shown toward the media. But who is really turning out the light?
If Democracy dies in darkness then presumably it flourishes in the light. And I've always been led to believe that the truth is the light. Let's use that premise and ask the question of who is turning out the lights?
I'll grant the President helps to create some shade when his excessively large ego leads him to exaggerate and overstate. I'll even concede that Michael Cohen was probably telling the truth or even understating it when he described ways President Trump may have worked to keep some stories out of the media. The President is no choir boy.
But the Washington Post is really directing their slogan toward President Trump's behavior toward the media - frequently calling out fake news stories and fake news organizations. But when the President does that is he trying to attack or impinge on the freedom of the Press guaranteed by the First Amendment? Or is he challenging the media to get their facts straight?
Sharyl Attkisson continues to maintain a rather comprehensive list of the times the media has been wrong during the Trump Era. Her list is found at https://sharylattkisson.com/50-media-mistakes-in-the-trump-era-the-definitive-list/. Notice the URL says "50 media mistakes" but the actual list is now at 73 and growing daily.
Without repeating what you can read there, let's consider the following. A media outlet reports a story prominently, perhaps on the front page of the Washington Post or endlessly throughout the day on a tv network like CNN. That story proves to be untrue. By reporting a lie, isn't that media outlet guilty of creating the darkness?
How do you undo that darkness? Wouldn't you undo it by shining the light on that by reporting the truth just as prominently as you reported the lie? But what if you don't? What if instead of a front page story you just put a small correction? What if instead of endless coverage on a broadcast network, you just move on to the next story and offer no correction at all. Ms. Atkisson documents well those kinds of instances.
If the media, the people who we expect to provide us with the truth, spread lies and then fail to undo that by provide equal coverage of the truth (or any coverage of the truth), isn't that media outlet even more guilty of turning out the light?
Maybe when worrying Democracy dying in darkness, the Washington Post needs to start by looking in the mirror.
If Democracy dies in darkness then presumably it flourishes in the light. And I've always been led to believe that the truth is the light. Let's use that premise and ask the question of who is turning out the lights?
I'll grant the President helps to create some shade when his excessively large ego leads him to exaggerate and overstate. I'll even concede that Michael Cohen was probably telling the truth or even understating it when he described ways President Trump may have worked to keep some stories out of the media. The President is no choir boy.
But the Washington Post is really directing their slogan toward President Trump's behavior toward the media - frequently calling out fake news stories and fake news organizations. But when the President does that is he trying to attack or impinge on the freedom of the Press guaranteed by the First Amendment? Or is he challenging the media to get their facts straight?
Sharyl Attkisson continues to maintain a rather comprehensive list of the times the media has been wrong during the Trump Era. Her list is found at https://sharylattkisson.com/50-media-mistakes-in-the-trump-era-the-definitive-list/. Notice the URL says "50 media mistakes" but the actual list is now at 73 and growing daily.
Without repeating what you can read there, let's consider the following. A media outlet reports a story prominently, perhaps on the front page of the Washington Post or endlessly throughout the day on a tv network like CNN. That story proves to be untrue. By reporting a lie, isn't that media outlet guilty of creating the darkness?
How do you undo that darkness? Wouldn't you undo it by shining the light on that by reporting the truth just as prominently as you reported the lie? But what if you don't? What if instead of a front page story you just put a small correction? What if instead of endless coverage on a broadcast network, you just move on to the next story and offer no correction at all. Ms. Atkisson documents well those kinds of instances.
If the media, the people who we expect to provide us with the truth, spread lies and then fail to undo that by provide equal coverage of the truth (or any coverage of the truth), isn't that media outlet even more guilty of turning out the light?
Maybe when worrying Democracy dying in darkness, the Washington Post needs to start by looking in the mirror.
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