The Fourth Estate, Accountability & Politics

The media, the press, pundits, etc. have all taken hits lately and much of it is deserved. The reality is though, that journalism is not only a noble profession but also one that all societies need for the sake of accountability and in the search for truth. We can certainly argue about who presents the truth as we know it or perhaps how we may want to know it, but someone has to put their fingers to the keys or voice to the microphone. We as readers, listeners and consumers also have a great deal of responsibility in this exercise. Sadly there are many who would like all of this to be much easier then it is, this consumption of ideas and this search for truth. It's not and it won't ever be.

Journalists are far from perfect. They're like most of us. They see and hear facts through their own lenses. No matter how hard they try, they have personal biases. All of this has gotten more complicated in the past few months. Many are learning that there really is personal responsibility in our search for the truth.

 So called 'fake news' has been around forever. Disinformation has been a tactic and method of people in power. Taking people through dark tunnels, winding ways and down holes have been ways to confuse and redirect. Policies and actions become sanitized, justified and promoted. Sometimes it's not that significant and perhaps harmless. Other times it justifies war, war crimes and serious criminal activity. Journalists try to help us navigate all of this. Sometimes they are successful and other times they may be complicit in the misinformation. But in general I believe journalists understand their role in keeping both the public informed and people in power accountable. They have to navigate the blockades and confusion for us.

After yesterday's so called press conference with President-Elect Donald Trump all of this becomes more important and more clear. I say so called because the event was really a mix of a rally and a press conference. Trump brought his supporters to the event to applaud and approve his pronouncements. Of course that's his right but it does change the advertised event of a press conference. The shouting match and authoritarian encounter with the reporter from CNN made for great TV for the 45% of the people who supported Trump in the recent election. Many of these folks hate the media because........they're easy to blame for just about everything. But it was a raw show of autocratic behavior that could be very dangerous if it continues and there is little indication that it won't.

I think most of the other journalists present were caught off guard so in the heat of the competitive nature of their business they just continued to shout out for recognition or their questions. I would hope this isn't their response in the future. Journalists really need to pull together when this kind of behavior is exposed by Trump or anyone else. They should call him out and stand with their colleague who is trying to do his or her job. If unchecked, the next move will be to throw journalists out of news conferences, uninvited the troublemakers or belittle them in other ways. It is a form of intimidation that is already occurring with businesses, Congress and government agencies.

A free press is an awesome thing that needs to be protected vehemently. Yes, sometimes, some of them get it wrong and sometimes we don't like to hear what they have to say. The reality is though that they're doing important work that many of us don't have time for.  I'd rather have the diversity of their opinions then one, controlled story.