Out, Liars

"That's a lie." -- Sean Thornton
"That's a word I take from no man. Put up your fists." -- Will Danaher.

   Time was, "liar" was one of the worst insults launched at a person. Nowadays, however, prevarication, misleading hints, falsehoods and even "truthful hyperbole" have become endemic in American politics.
   So why don't TV news anchors and interviewers call out those who perpetrate blatant nonsense and identify them for what they are: Liars.
   For decades, reporters and opinion writers avoided using the terms "liar" because of the power inherent in the word.  But  many, especially politicians, have stretched the truth so far and so flagrantly that only the L word properly describes what they do.
   Moreover, the word has been bandied about so loosely that it is now necessary for news media to use it to accurately describe the perpetrators. Even in the halls of Congress, the word "Liar!" was hurled at the President during his State of the Union address.
   Courtesy and respect have disappeared.

   During the current political campaign, proven falsehoods, unproven rumors and misleading insinuations as well as flat-out lies are spread every day as swiftly as rancid margarine masquerading as butter.
   Too often, the unfounded allegations -- lies -- go unchallenged by journalists. And this raises the question of whether the candidate should get away with expounding ludicrous nonsense. A reporter's duty, of course, is to record and forward to the general public what a candidate for government office, or any other public figure, says. In addition, journalists seek out a response from opponents.
   
  Young reporter: "Did you ever get the feeling when working on a story that someone is lying to you?"
   Senior editor: "Sure. It happens all the time. But it's not our job to decide which side is lying. Maybe they both are. Our job is to report both sides and let the reader decide."

   Those days may be gone.
   During the current electoral season, the lies have become so blatant and defiantly flagrant, and repeated so often, in the face of history, previously recorded speeches and volumes of documented evidence that the problem has become a serious challenge as journalists try to serve a free society.
   So what's a reporter to do?
   Remaining neutral and impartial is no barrier to journalism's duty to report truth. It's important to describe accurately and fairly what a candidate says and does, but that doesn't prevent a reporter from identifying and labeling as false whatever nonsensical claim is perpetrated that is contrary to fact and reality and even contradicts previous comments made repeatedly by the same speaker.
   
   It may be unseemly and unprofessional for a TV news anchor to say "Liar" to a politician. Leave that to the commentators, pundits and opinionators.
   But there are ways.
   
   And the best way for a journalist to expose blatant, flagrant untruths is to say or write, "That's false, and here's why," then producing the evidence to prove why the politician is a liar.