Journalism, again!
Another great piece from Chris Quinn, Editor at Cleveland’s Plain Dealer. As long as he (and hopefully others) commit journalism, I will keep promoting them. Please think about sharing this with anyone you know. (bolding is mine)
The closer we get to the November election, the more I hear from people demanding what I interpret as a false equivalency in our stories and opinion pieces.
No. No. No. No. No.
The only standard that matters is truth.
If we write six stories in six days about lies, exaggerations or wacky statements by Ohio’s JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, we’re not going to write six stories about his Democratic opponent Tim Walz simply to match up. We follow the news. Also, Vance is from Ohio, which is what we cover. Of course, we focus on him.
False equivalence is a pox on our political discussion these days. Some believe newsrooms are unfair unless everything they do cuts straight down the middle. But news is messy, not some perfectly balanced math equation. There are times – like the week of the Republican convention – when one side commands most of the attention.
And there are eras, like the current one, when people in one party lie, exaggerate or make wacky statements more than the other. To do our job, we have to report that. To pretend otherwise is where the falsity arises.
Although the vast majority of people I hear from applaud how we approach politics, I still hear from some who say our coverage of the Republican ticket is biased.
It’s not. It’s truth. Readers who say they don’t like it are really saying they don’t want the truth. They want bias, but on their side of the equation.
The latest jabs have come because of some appearances I’ve made on Nicolle Wallace’s MSNBC show, Deadline: White House. She has invited me on to talk about the Ohio viewpoint on Vance and the presidential race.
I’m a Wallace fan, as are quite a few others across the country. A strategy of the right, though, is to claim that MSNBC is biased to the left the way Fox News is biased to the right, and anyone who appears on MSNBC is showing a bias. That’s another false equivalence. MSNBC is nothing like Fox News.
I’ve argued all year that Fox News is the single biggest threat to democracy in America. Huge numbers of Americans watch it, believing it to be a news outlet that purveys the truth. Fox News is not a news outlet. It is a money machine for Rupert Murdoch and his family that has learned to rake in billions by lying. People on Fox News lie by the minute, seriously undermining faith in our institutions.
If you listen to Wallace and her guests on MSNBC, however, you don’t hear lies. They tell the truth.
MSNBC is not a counterpart to Fox News. There is no counterpart to Fox News. Other broadcaster don’t have a business model based on lying. You might not like what Wallace and others say on MSNBC, because they portray your party in a poor light, but that doesn’t mean they don’t tell the truth. They do.
I wish one of the major news organizations – one with resources our newsroom lacks — would do a daily fact check on all the lies told in the previous 24 hours by Fox News. It would hold this dangerous organization accountable.
Think about it: Plenty of news organizations do fact checks on statements made by politicians, while Fox News, which reaches far more people, lies with abandon.
Bill Adair is the founder of PolitiFact, which has won a Pulitzer Prize for fact checking. He has a book coming out in October called “Beyond the Big Lie,” which examines the state and evolution of political lies in America. I’ve known him since our newsroom partnered with PolitiFact more than a decade ago, and he calls from time to time to hear the viewpoint from a regional newsroom. He sent me an advance copy of the book, which I’ll write about in more detail closer to publication.
It’s worth reading just for the prologue, a powerful anecdote that I won’t spoil. Overall, the book lays out a strong case for America to get back to holding people accountable for lies. We’ve become numb to lying since the rise of Donald Trump, who has lied too many times to count.
And the book takes Fox News to task repeatedly for its lies.
The only way to stop Fox News from undermining our political discourse is to start fighting back, to put a spotlight on the many ways it lies. Yes, I understand that Fox News viewers likely would not see those fact checks, but calling out the lies day after day would have an impact. The alternative – doing nothing – ensures that Fox News continues to wreck our discourse, continues arming a large part of America with information that is false.
Journalists have a responsibility here. Fox News has corrupted what we do by purporting to be one of us, relying on our credibility to spread damaging lies. We have a duty to protect a profession that has been a key check on government since the republican was founded.
As for MSNBC, if Wallace invites me on to her show, I’ll be there. She’s a journalist who fights falsehoods every weekday. The more journalists who do that, the better our chances, as a nation, of once again having discussions based on truth, not the baloney proffered by Fox News.
I’m at [email protected]
Open thread.
Worker Power Leadership School – Field Notes Vol. 4
WaterGirl
Posted this just 30 minutes after the Worker Power Field Notes post. I hope you’ll still read that one, but I don’t know that there’s a lot to say in the comments, except that they are are doing great things.
cain
The problem I saw is that the other news orgs defend Fox. When Obama tried to kick fox out there was a hue and cry. It was pathetic.
BR
I’ve decided my nerves can’t handle it and I’m going to tune out all blogs and news this coming week. Except for watching Harris’s speech online, because I want to contribute to the view numbers, I don’t think I can handle the media’s anti-Dem spin and the protests and all the rest.
WaterGirl
@cain:
Totally agree. They see themselves first as part of a band of brothers, or something, not as the fourth estate and defenders of democracy.
The media lost its (collective) way and they will have to hit rock bottom before they wake up. I’m not sure what rock bottom would look like to them. We are seeing just the edges of the pushback from the Harris campaign, and the media seems to be noticing, but they are still a million miles from rock bottom.
WaterGirl
@BR: Then it’s the perfect time to join us in the zoom with The Civics Center. Tuesday at 7:30 pm Eastern.
You might just come away inspired, and with calmer nerves.
Send email to me to RSVP.
CaseyL
@cain:
I remember that, and being very pissed off. Like, “If the tables were turned, Fox News would not only NOT come to your defense, they’d cheer on excluding. you. Hell, they’d cheer on rounding you up and putting you in camps.”
About the only faux-reporter I can think of who the “real” reporters didn’t stick up for was that Gannon guy back in W’s reign. Can’t remember why, maybe because he turned out to be a porn star.
Steve LaBonne
Wow. Thank you, I missed this one. I guess I will have to toss some subscription $$ to cleveland.com- this kind of thing needs to be rewarded.
gene108
Fox News lost at least one lawsuit for spreading 2020 election lies.
There’s a court case showing they lie. They know they’re lying, and know if they don’t lie they will lose viewers to NewsMax and other right-wing cable news channels.
Edit: Fox will lose viewers to other right-wing channels that tell bigger lies Republican voters find more reassuring. It’s a damning indictment of a lot of our media this continues and is often defended.
Feckless
Fox News was intimately involved in trying to overthrow our democracy on January 6th.
I know this only because it was revealed in a civil lawsuit. Not an FBI investigation, from discovery in a civil lawsuit that settled without a trial.
Fox is nothing but a propaganda platform for traitors.
Maybe our dem leaders should treat it that way
hueyplong
@CaseyL: “Star” might be doing a bit of lifting there.
TBone
Crooksandliars does a good job of calling out Faux News just about every day. They can’t possibly point out every lie, but they always take Faux to task. Today’s example:
https://crooksandliars.com/2024/08/fox-and-friends-scream-about-non-existent
Old Man Shadow
Why, it’s that kind of attitude that will keep you from going anywhere but regional media!
Librarian
Another difference between Fox and MSNBC is the Fox is owned by somebody who will keep it on the air no matter what, while MSNBC is owned by a corporation which could pull it off the air and replace it with a shopping channel anytime it wants.
TBone
@gene108: more than one lawsuit, remember
this onethesehttps://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/917747123/you-literally-cant-believe-the-facts-tucker-carlson-tells-you-so-say-fox-s-lawye
Also, Hannity had a direct line to Donold every night, complicit all the way.
They are so egregious.
RaflW
“It’s truth. Readers who say they don’t like it are really saying they don’t” like Republicans. (FTFY)
The problem arises because they still think of themselves as Republicans, and can’t figure out the correct response options: change parties, or change the party they believe they belong in.
KatKapCC
Great article, thank you for sharing it.
Does that go for everything? “We’re joined now by Candidate A, who thinks the Earth is flat, a totally valid and reasonable notion.”
CaseyL
@hueyplong: ’
…well, so was Gannon. (nyuk nyuk nyuk)
hells littlest angel
@cain: That the White House Press Corps accepts an asshole like Peter Doocy as an equal brings all of them down to his level.
Another Scott
@Librarian: Roger Ailes was behind both of them, so it’s not surprising that they are actually more similar than many believe.
Variety.com – Ailes’ May 2017 obituary:
Ultimately, for-profit broadcasters are about profits. And these days, that means fear and anger and “engagement” and hitting quarterly numbers.
None of this is new, of course, as we remember Father Coughlin and others. But the world is a smaller place now, and in many ways institutions are more fragile because people think that they’ve always been there and will always be there so they don’t need to pay much attention…
Grr…,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Old Man Shadow:
Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
I would like to see local media used most exclusively thru the election in November. Plus social media, etc. But not the big entitled media groups, screw them.
WaterGirl
@hells littlest angel: I would like to see Kamala’s White House use a rotating bunch of local and regional reporters.
Villago Delenda Est
Broderism is a malignant cancer on the body politic.
Villago Delenda Est
@hells littlest angel: Pedantic correction: White House Press Corpse.
Villago Delenda Est
@WaterGirl: The Ellen Ripley treatment is needed for the MSM. Only way to be sure.
Baud
I wonder of CPD has seen a big rise in subscriptions by speaking truth. If so, hopefully market forces will work.
Anonymous At Work
Fox News once plead in legal briefs that Tucker Carlson and others were NOT journalists but entertainers and that no rational person would believe them (this was BEFORE the Dominion lawsuit as well). Rubber meets the road and money is on the line and Fox said “We aren’t news but entertainment.” Hold them to that.
Reality Check: It was a bit more limited than that, but the principle is the same. When it came time to defend themselves as a news organization (and lose a defamation suit) or weasel-plead, Fox chose to weasel-plead.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: This election, I’m hoping Vice President Harris sits down with the editorial boards of the main Pittsburgh and Philadelphia newspapers. John Fettetman did that in 2022 and I think it went well for him.
TBone
The FTFNYT has a both sides, he said she said “fact check” article today. It is exactly as shitty as you’d think. It’s headlined:
Assessing Trump’s and Harris’s Attacks On Each Other
Not linking, kinda pissed that I gave it a click but in light of this topic I wanted to say Fuck the Fucking NYT again.
TBone
@Geminid: 👍
trollhattan
In its heyday The Daily Show was relentless in airing Fox lies segments and I don’t believe their work was appreciated beyond the actual TDS audience. Which is a shame because they did it well and of course used all that material as fodder for their own content.
Often wondered who the poor sods were that had to plow through tape after tape of Fox content for the material. Has to turn your brain to mush after a time.
hells littlest angel
@WaterGirl: I have no doubt most local news reporters would ask intelligent questions.
WaterGirl
@Villago Delenda Est: I didn’t see the movie. Brief explanation?
WaterGirl
@TBone: Perfect!
WaterGirl
@hells littlest angel: Local people would put the national media to shame!
You spend your one fucking question at at news conference asking when Kamala will have another news conference? Idiots.
cain
@Anonymous At Work:
It should be used to kick them out. Simply stating that in court they said they were an entertainment company and that their show hosts are entertainers.
The priority 1 is kicking fox news out of the briefing room.
Other MJS
@WaterGirl: “Nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
WaterGirl
@Other MJS: Ha!
Betsy
I ish someone would force Steve Inskeep to read this and take an essay exam on it.
Xavier
@Anonymous At Work: If they are not journalists, plenty of reason to exclude them from WH press.
Black_Onion
Is there a link to this anywhere, or am I blind and missing it? Would love to share it.
Timill
@Black_Onion:
Linky Thingy
Dmbeaster
The most essential remedy for Fox is the media calling it out for its lying propaganda content. Instead, they largely treat it as just another legitimate news outlet with a point of view. They are complicit in the disease since they will not stand up for a core principle of journalism.
I have no problem with journalism written from a clearly disclosed point of view. It’s the intentional toxic lies that are the problem.
Facts have a liberal bias these days. But the media largely has a bias in favor of disinformation that sells. They envy the success of Fox.
Black_Onion
@Timill: Thank you! It’s such a well done piece.
WaterGirl
@Black_Onion: It received it as an email, so no link. You could always share a link to the BJ post.
edit: of course! Timill went to the paper online, and there it was!
Villago Delenda Est
@WaterGirl: From Aliens: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
WaterGirl
@Villago Delenda Est: If that were to happen, maybe the media would actually get the message that they went too far. :-)
Maybe!