Moore: Is Election 2016 the End of The Mainstream Media?
Monday, August 29, 2016
I shouldn’t have to point this out, but the relationship between the media and politicians and government officials is supposed to be adversarial. That’s why if you’re like most people, and need to be liked or fit in, a job as a news reporter probably isn’t for you.
In fact, if a youngster is thinking about getting into the news business, it’s probably best if he or she is a misanthrope.
The job of the politicians (and their advisers) is to present information in a way that makes themselves look good. The media’s job is to present information as accurately as possible to the general public.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHyenas and Lions
Public relations people often refer to themselves as “facilitators”, but that’s always been a huge misnomer. It’s the members of the press—the reporters, journalists, commentators, etc.—that have traditionally been the actual facilitators of information to the general public.
Politicians are to journalists as hyenas are to lions—natural enemies.
At least that was once the case. But this year’s presidential election has got me thinking the dynamic has changed—and certainly not for the better. This year’s presidential election makes it seem like the members of the press, depending on what news organization they work for, are choosing sides, and reporting information in a way that makes their candidate look better. Or, what’s just as a bad, only presenting information that makes their candidate appear favorable.
Both candidates have had statements taken out of context, by supposedly unbiased news organizations, to enhance the candidacies of their opponents. Most organizations are shilling for the Democrats. Fox News supports the GOP.
Hillary Loves The (Compliant) Press
A good anecdote that nicely sums up the state of the mainstream media occurred recently.
Keep in mind, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Presidential nominee, hasn’t held a single press conference this year. At a campaign stop in Nevada last week, a reporter had the guts to mention that it seemed like a good time for the woman who wants to lead the free world to actually answer some questions from the pool of assembled reporters, almost all from large, mainstream media conglomerates, Clinton laughed.
Even more insulting, the Presidential candidate then suggested that the reporters be offered free chocolates from the candy store she was visiting since they’d all been “so wonderful, so cooperative, so hard-working” according to the United Kingdom based Daily Mail newspaper. Translation: so compliant.
A Frightening Trend
Here’s what’s most frightening about the exchange. None of the reporters lashed out back at Clinton. None of them protested. None seemed offended that she was treating them flippantly. Apparently, her characterization of the press pool following her as “cooperative” is accurate.
If the press corps really intended on doing its job properly, they’d have all but raised Hell after being told to keep their mouths shut, know their place, and eat some candy. Instead, nothing happened. We wouldn’t know about it if a foreign press organization didn’t report it. I imagine a bunch of them sitting there eating chocolate as their notebooks remained empty.
All of this is disconcerting. If the mainstream media is going to comport itself in a manner that’s compliant to the wishes of the powerful, it’s the American people who are going to be the big losers in the end.
Alternative Media Will Come to Dominate.
None of this is to say that I support Donald Trump, but he has held countless press conferences this year and at least attempted to answer the tough questions. Yet on the whole, the media has been much harder on Trump than Clinton. Perhaps he has brought so much of it on himself, but the media shouldn’t be openly promoting candidates.
So it should come as no surprise that the biggest applause at most of Trump’s rallies comes when he bashes the mainstream media.
All this means that as we move forward, the mainstream media’s power will continue to erode as it loses the faith of the American people. It will be the alternative and foreign media that will fill the void.
And the mainstream media will have only itself to blame.
Russell J. Moore has worked on both sides of the desk in Rhode Island media, both for newspapers and on political campaigns. Send him email at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @russmoore713.
Related Slideshow: Seven Things to Watch in Media in New England and Across the Country
Related Articles
- Moore: Elorza Releases Devastating Report; Is Anyone Listening?
- Moore: Raimondo is Not Wrong to Hire Out-of-State Vendors
- Moore: I Still Think Clinton Wins RI Tomorrow
- Moore: Elorza’s Budget Doesn’t Match His Rhetoric
- Moore: Federal Hill’s Parking Meter Lesson
- Moore: Marketing Fiasco Symbolizes RI Government Dysfunction
- Moore: Deep-Seated Issues in the Elorza Administration Arise
- Moore: Providence’s Commercial Tax Conundrum
- Moore: Mount Saint Charles Sends The Wrong Message
- Moore: Trump and Sanders Appeal to the Disenfranchised
- Moore: Apple’s Prudent Resistance to FBI Overreach
- Moore: The Real Ethics Reform Heroes Aren’t Legislative Leadership
- Moore: A Bad News Week For RI Reformers
- Moore: RI Progressives “Major in the Minors”
- Moore: Shocking Police Beating Video Warrants Answers
- Moore: Will RI Government Rules Close a Key Nonprofit?
- Moore: Only Voters Can Stifle RI Corruption
- Moore: Raimondo’s Pension Fund Experiment Fails
- Moore: Happy Fourth, Now Remember It’s Meaning
- Moore: Raimondo Let Insider Politics Kill Bill to Protect Women
- Moore: Cynicism Dominates RI Politics
- Moore: RI Reformers Winning Big This Year
- Moore: House Budget Punishes Charter School Success
- Moore: Voters Must Demand Transparency From ProvPort
