By Dennis Hicks, Hamilton
The news media’s self-aggrandizing editorial entitled, “Support for the media,” was run in more than 350 newspapers nationwide last week. Proclaiming they champion the First Amendment’s free speech, they miss the main point: Yes, everybody believes free speech is important, but very few believe the press should be partisan political activists. The press bristles at being named “the enemy of the people” by President Trump. But, any group that tries to deceive the people with half-truths and sophistry is, by definition, the people’s enemy.
Claiming objectivity in their news reporting, they cast aside all objectivity when they portray the news media as pillars of virtue in their editorial. Let’s objectively examine some of the editorial’s claims:
1. They claim the President “works to erode the public’s trust in the media.” In fact, the news media itself has eroded the public’s trust through its obvious bias — its constant (and tiresome) negative reporting on Trump and his administration while suppressing any news of positive outcomes from the President’s policies.
The media ignore what is perhaps the biggest news of the decade: The booming American economy. Bloomberg just reported the repatriation of $1.5 trillion back into the U.S. economy because of Trump’s tax cuts. Businesses are booming. They are hiring, giving raises and bonuses, and unemployment is at record lows. Instead, they give us (ad nauseam) trivia that is slanted to embarrass Trump, his cabinet, and his family, offering any “news” that will cast him in a poor light.
The economic good news gets even better: The stronger U.S. economy has strengthened America’s influence internationally. Because of our strong economy, pressures on North Korea, Turkey, Iran, China, Russia, even the European Union, are bringing real positive changes that benefit America. But the news media don’t consider any of that newsworthy.
2. They claim “We are your news.” “We are your people.” “We love our country.” Really? “MAGA” is perceived by the news media as hate speech. The news media consistently deny any evidence of American exceptionalism, they disparage expressions of American patriotism, and they trivialize traditional American values.
Seen through the eyes of the news media, America is a terrible place to live. It’s populated by “deplorables,” there are guns in every child’s hand, and the streets of America are like the OK Corral. Americans are portrayed as selfish because they oppose open borders. They are stingy because they resist handing over their hard-earned property to those who refuse to work. They are racist because, well, that’s a difficult one to prove, but they are racist anyway.
Is that what the news media love about our country — the way they portray our country?
3. They claim “There is no educator to compare with the press” (quote from Ida B. Wells, 1892). If the news media’s propaganda and sophistry is the true educator of America, then all is lost. But fortunately, news media readership is in decline as readers look for alternative news sources with less political bias. If truth and the whole truth were offered by the news media, the American public would not be looking elsewhere for the truth. More often than not, the news media lie against the truth or withhold the truth, to support their false narrative about President Trump, America, and Americans. H.G. Wells (not related to Ida) would call the modern news media, “Minitrue” (1984, by H.G. Wells).
Americans that understand the founding principles that made America great are not convinced the press loves America. Rather, they believe the news media want to transform America in a direction they reject.