How to become a friend of your community
By Phil Riske | Senior Reporter/Writer
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
ou could say the news media’s reaction to President Trump’s daily expression of hatred of “fake news” and the dogs who produce it has been a very slow knee jerk one. Only recently have the people and organizations of journalism fought back en masse.
“We aren’t the enemy of the people. We are the people. We aren’t fake news. We are your news and we struggle night and day to get the facts right,”wrote Judy Patrick, New York Publishers Association’s vice president for editorial development.
True, but local news newspapers and broadcast stations should go a step further in the fight against the Administration’s propaganda to discredit (real)news about Trump-style government.
Related: Donald Trump’s “Fake News” Tactics
John Cassidy of The New Yorkersays “[T]he right way for members of the media to respond to Trump’s attacks is to stay calm and recommit to aggressive but scrupulous reporting. Rather than trying to prejudge the outcome of investigations of the president, the media’s job is to report the news as it emerges, and to provide an outlet for sources who have information they think the public needs to know about.
So, when it comes to publishing thoughtful but generic editorials defending the news media, or media themselves proving they are a friend of democracy in their local communities by publishing truths, the answer is simple:
Do both.
