Vince, First, an apology for not responding sooner. That said, in my view, though your remark is not entirely inaccurate, it neglects to explain the deregulation pressures that began during the Reagan era and that opened the door to the faux news of Rupert Murdock’s empire. My understanding is that said pressures emerged from a vociferou…
Vince, First, an apology for not responding sooner. That said, in my view, though your remark is not entirely inaccurate, it neglects to explain the deregulation pressures that began during the Reagan era and that opened the door to the faux news of Rupert Murdock’s empire. My understanding is that said pressures emerged from a vociferous and relentless right wing campaign buoyed by the Republican National Committee.
Thank you for this clarification. I was unaware of the underpinnings and machinations that set this deregulation in motion. We are the worse off because of it. That is especially true since the arrival of Donald Trump; and, now, a war in Europe. The disinformation being spread is most disturbing.
Vince, Here’s a quote from Thomas Jefferson I imagine you’ll appreciate: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
Another Jefferson gem, admittedly before he became President: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
Agreed wholeheartedly! The "free" world, such as it is, is the beneficiary of a free press. Yet, one must not idealize the press because often the press creates a problem where there is none (yellow newspapers). On the other hand, there is Putin and his state-controlled media -- print and broadcast.
Vince, Though I know I’m stating the obvious, stupidly I expect that people would want to seek out reporters who view their jobs as trying to get as close as possible to the verifiable truth. To the contrary, I sense consumers largely are interested in reporting that validates their belief systems. Hardly a formula for salvaging democracy from the polarizing forces that threaten irreparably to weaken American civic institutions.
Barbara, I believe the larger problem is how "journalism" (tongue-in-cheek) today in certain quarters is more for entertainment and self-adulation. I do believe, or at least want to, that the majority of journalistic outlets -- print and broadcast/electronic -- are genuinely honest. Yet, the lack of integrity and the thirst for hype among the FOX types is disarming and disheartening. Reporters such as FOX's Peter Doocy reflect a somewhat degenerate and disingenuous form of reportage. The Doocy types remind me of the high school class clown who asks certain questions or posits certain theorems simply to get attention. It is contorted entertainment for all the world to see, and it is nauseating (and, for some, embarrassing). Those forces threatening our Republic have been striving to undermine and undercut our nation for decades. The zeal for a sordid sense of theater rather than for a solid sense of truth and fact has had and continues to have a corrosive effect on the "news”.
Vince, First, an apology for not responding sooner. That said, in my view, though your remark is not entirely inaccurate, it neglects to explain the deregulation pressures that began during the Reagan era and that opened the door to the faux news of Rupert Murdock’s empire. My understanding is that said pressures emerged from a vociferous and relentless right wing campaign buoyed by the Republican National Committee.
Thank you for this clarification. I was unaware of the underpinnings and machinations that set this deregulation in motion. We are the worse off because of it. That is especially true since the arrival of Donald Trump; and, now, a war in Europe. The disinformation being spread is most disturbing.
Vince, Here’s a quote from Thomas Jefferson I imagine you’ll appreciate: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil. -- Plato.
Another Jefferson gem, admittedly before he became President: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
Agreed wholeheartedly! The "free" world, such as it is, is the beneficiary of a free press. Yet, one must not idealize the press because often the press creates a problem where there is none (yellow newspapers). On the other hand, there is Putin and his state-controlled media -- print and broadcast.
Vince, Though I know I’m stating the obvious, stupidly I expect that people would want to seek out reporters who view their jobs as trying to get as close as possible to the verifiable truth. To the contrary, I sense consumers largely are interested in reporting that validates their belief systems. Hardly a formula for salvaging democracy from the polarizing forces that threaten irreparably to weaken American civic institutions.
Barbara, I believe the larger problem is how "journalism" (tongue-in-cheek) today in certain quarters is more for entertainment and self-adulation. I do believe, or at least want to, that the majority of journalistic outlets -- print and broadcast/electronic -- are genuinely honest. Yet, the lack of integrity and the thirst for hype among the FOX types is disarming and disheartening. Reporters such as FOX's Peter Doocy reflect a somewhat degenerate and disingenuous form of reportage. The Doocy types remind me of the high school class clown who asks certain questions or posits certain theorems simply to get attention. It is contorted entertainment for all the world to see, and it is nauseating (and, for some, embarrassing). Those forces threatening our Republic have been striving to undermine and undercut our nation for decades. The zeal for a sordid sense of theater rather than for a solid sense of truth and fact has had and continues to have a corrosive effect on the "news”.