Master Manipulator

Be careful what you wish for. You may get it.

Therein lies the rub. -- Shakespeare

   A politician can insult, condemn and criticize as being "unfair" TV and print journalists who cover his campaign all he wants, and that trumpery will be duly documented and reported, as it is journalism's obligation to do.
   Report what is said. Obtain alternative views and include them. Document the truth or falsity of what the candidate claims, and follow up with his comments on opposing views, as well as conflicting fact and reality.
   
   The current Republican presidential candidate who happens to be ahead of the pack is fond of insulting and belittling anyone who disagrees with him as being "unfair." He has called major national newspapers "losers" that are "in trouble." He has confused the term "unfair" with negativity.
   But consider this: Accurate reporting of negative remarks is in fact fair. If the candidate's insults, abuse and vilification have negative consequences, that is fair and accurate.
   Example: Donald Trump's call for a "total and complete shutdown of all Muslims coming into the United States" is a fair and accurate report of what he said. The consequences of such talk are also part of journalism's duty to document and report.
   After the worldwide uproar over his trumped-up allegations against all Muslims, a petition signed by more than 300,000 Britons has triggered a formal debate in Parliament that Trump be banned from entering the United Kingdom because of "hate speech."
   Further, he was disinvited from a planned visit to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump has claimed that he postponed the trip himself "until after I become President."
   Yeah, right.

  The trip had been scheduled for a few weeks hence, but his self-proclaimed postponement would put it sometime after January 20, 2017.
   Assuming he is nominated next summer, and elected in November, 2016.
   Heroic assumptions, at best.
   Currently, Trump is spending very little money on campaign ads, even as he gets almost hourly coverage of his rallies and rantings. Why isn't he spending as much money as the other candidates? He doesn't have to, since he's getting so much free air time through his trumpery, trumped-up allegations, and irrational ravings.

   Meanwhile, there are other candidates in the presidential contests, and they also deserve coverage in the nation's news media. And while it is true that one candidate's antics may be more entertaining, in its perverse way, other candidates also deserve to be covered. TV news in particular is derelict in its journalistic duty when it devotes more time to a particular performer because he may be more colorful.
   At the same time, if that candidate espouses positions that are anathema to the principles underlying the American way, then that politician should and must be exposed for what he is.
   And the best way to do that is to document and report exactly what the candidate says, as well as the consequences of his tirades.

   There are ways.