Dear Readers:
One of the major problems we are facing is the fact that there is widespread distrust of the news media. You know as well as I do that the president has disparaged most of the mainstream news sources, resulting in the so-called Alt-Right completely rejecting everything originating from anywhere except their own certified news sources.
Many of us, too, have become alarmed at the escalation of name-calling, and all such symptoms of the polarization between the Left and the Right, or at least those leaning towards the Democrats, and those leaning towards the GOP.
Late night comedy show hosts---and I certainly confess to watching at least some of them---do go over the top with their mocking of the administration, and their very pointed style of presenting summaries---or even details---of the events of the day. But they are not intended to be trusted news sources (even if people sometimes do get their news from those comedians). For some reason, many comedians seem to lean to the Left, though there is nothing intrinsically funny about being a socialist of any stripe. I used the word Left, because the word liberal really does not mean anything except in the highly specific context of the US. (In Australia, for instance, the Liberal Party is the party of the conservatives.)
What I want to state is that News Programs are expected to deliver the news, objectively and impartially. In addition, there is an editorial function, which is merely a commentary on the news. It is intended to make the readers or the listeners think, and not necessarily either agree with or disagree with. They are intended to point out possible repercussions of the events of the day: the fallout, as it were. But today, the commentary has been given so much importance that it becomes easy for the alt-right to disagree with it, and throw out the news with the commentary.
The question is: Is there some way the news media can gradually regain some of their lost ground? Is it possible to make the tone of the news objective, dispassionate, unbiased? Admittedly, it is a lot more fun to editorialize on the news than to just deliver it. But that's what creates a useful news bulletin, and over time, a trusted source of news.
To do this is very important in this last week before the elections. People of all stripes will be watching a wider variety of news sources than they usually do, especially those who are beginning to view highly biased news programs with some distaste. Not tightening up the quality of news programs now, not trying to present the news with as even a tone as possible, amounts to declaring that the elections have really been settled long since, and that there's nothing more to be done in terms of helping the electorate understand the issues, and make up its mind. Minds will be made up gradually, all the way until the last second, and the greatest thing the news media can do, in a time when everybody is doing the wrong thing, is to take newscasting seriously.
Meanwhile, the commentators, whose job is seen as providing informed opinion, can help by calming down, and presenting reasoned argument, rather than heated condemnation. Some viewers among the Alt-Right may not always have been as "Alt" as they are now; they may long for the old days when news commentators did not wallow in hysteria as they do now. If hysteria is all every news source has to offer, we may as well watch the cartoons.
Despite all the name-calling, many on both sides long for simple, basic information, and I hope some news sources will deliver this much-needed thing without coloring it with opinion.
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