Gullible's Travails

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. -- Shakespeare

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The best reporters are neither advocates nor adversaries. They ask the tough questions because they need to be asked.

   Whatever happened to journalistic cynicism?
   Where are the skeptical reporters who used to be so widespread in the news media?
   Where are the editors who achieved fame for their irascibility?
   What happened to the real-life Perry Whites and Lou Grants?
   Do we still have city editors who seem like they came straight out of Central Casting?

   Government leaders ramble on in speeches about the need to deal with economic issues, but one soon realizes that they really don't know what they're talking about. Even more often, especially on social issues, they display outrageous ignorance. But that's another issue.
   Moreover, reporters and commentators in the news media are complicit -- unwittingly perhaps -- in conveying the messages that are really political ploys, and are sometimes downright lies.
   Someone once said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Therefore, it could very well be that politicians and their corporate supporters are using political means to gain economic power, which in turn enhances political power, all the while couching their rhetoric in airy phrases that sound good but mean little.
   It has been said that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Not so. It is often the first.

   Consider: Political candidates pack their audiences with loyal supporters who cheer every word of a speech, and the campaign staff disallows any questions from reporters. There are no "news conferences" as such. And when in office, the officials limit contact with reporters only to those they deem sympathetic.
   Result: Reporters cooperate and follow rules set by the politician, lest they lose out on a "story," or they get no access to the official at all.
   The question then becomes, who's in charge?

   Officials want to control their message, and go to great lengths to do so. When possible, they talk mainly to those who toss easy questions, and help promulgate the party line. In fairness, it must be said that some so-called reporters are not fair or neutral; they are partisan. Some are for, and some are opposed to the political message. Some in the media have agendas -- messages of their own. And some publications and broadcasters also have political leanings.
   It's no secret that MSNBC leans to the Left and Fox News to the Right, but these views are mostly from the hosts and commentators, who by their nature are political -- they are not neutral. But that's part of the price we pay for our First Amendment freedoms.

   Besides, who gets to decide what's fair?