TJ TAUBI’ve come to the very sad understanding that “news”, via almost every medium, is not what the 4th estate was charged to do in a democracy. NBC News Director Chuck Todd said it’s not his job to inform viewers when lies are told about an issue. If that’s the case, scarily, he’s a reporter/entertainer, not a journalist.
Journalists bring facts to light and challenge what appear to be distortions and inaccuracies. Simply passing along “he said/she said” or ‘this side/that side’ without evaluation, is NOT JOURNALISM – it’s simply recording/echoing and it fails its critical role in our democracy. Journalism exposes rhetoric, distortions, threats, and hopefully makes the impetus and ability for reasoned change more feasible.
Mass killings are reported – not journalistically positioned as a critically relevant social issue. Horrified talking-heads ask ‘why.’ Why horrified, and reported nationally, only when it’s multiple vs. individual killings – the ones that take place day after day? And what possible difference does the ‘why’ make? ‘Why’ differs from event to event and it doesn’t bring anyone back. The common thread, of course, is the proliferation of firearms. And each shooting mirrors the garbage our entertainment industry has pumped out for decades, glorifying/desensitizing generations to violence.
The gist of a statement, attributed to Edmund Burke in the 1700’s, conveys the concept that ‘the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ ‘Good’ people need to become engaged, including the election and support of those who think for themselves and work for the people, not regressive, self-righteous, power hungry revisionists who stand on and echo dogma.
