Historian Howard Zinn wrote, A People’s History of the United States, from a perspective unlike previous historians. Zinn wrote from the perspective of the conquered, the oppressed and the disenfranchised. He wrote from the view of the peaceful Arawak people against whom Columbus and his followers committed genocide. He did this not to diminish the explorer’s heroism or the magnitude of his accomplishment but to fully record the contribution of the Arawak and their sacrifice toward our country’s existence. Zinn also told this story because its omission would be a crime.
“Outright lying or quiet omission takes the risk of discovery which, when made, might arouse the reader to rebel against the writer. To state the facts, however, and then bury them in a mass of other information is to say to the reader: yes, mass murder took place, but it’s not that important… it should effect very little what we do in the world”
The same ‘quiet omission’ in print and television reporting runs the same risk of discovery and rebellion. With respect to the media’s role as a government watchdog, omitting facts and subverting the public’s right to know makes the media complicit in the government’s actions. Reporting on divisive issues and quoting unsubstantiated statements from one side or the other isn’t news or good journalism, it is free publicity.
Please watch this clip from Maddow on this matter.
Infamously, Judith Miller, writing for the NY Times acted as a stenographer rather than a reporter and is widely believed to be complicit in spreading the lie Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction that lead the nation to war. Though humiliated, the damage Miller and other journalists who failed to check facts and sources contributed to is done and thousands of US troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead.
The problem isn’t just at the national level. Locally, there are numerous instances of The World paper reporting statements as facts, omitting facts and failing to distinguish facts from truth.
The paper’s handling of Kevin Stufflebean’s accusations against the Sheriff’s Department is a perfect example. Fact: Stufflebean made non specific accusations of corruption. The paper chose not only to report the fact Stufflebean made accusations but also printed the unsubstantiated accusations which, it turns out, were false. Herein lies the distinction between fact and truth.
The World reported a road department employee’s accusations against Larry Van Elsberg. When it was revealed the employee’s claims could not have been true, the reporter refused a correction claiming she was only quoting a source. It is a fact she quoted someone but the net result is the article is untruthful and in both instances, innocent people were harmed.
The paper’s coverage of the road department layoffs was rampant with omissions. Like how the budget figures used to justify the layoffs showing the department operating in the red for eight years was completely untrue. An entire book could be written about the clever and artful way the Board of Commissioners technically met the letter of the public meeting laws while simultaneously trampling on their spirit.
While I suppose I should be flattered The World feels it worth writing a story to counter my post regarding a possible power plant near the proposed LNG facility, there were factual omissions in their reporting and unsubstantiated statements made by Bob Braddock presented as facts.
The paper acts as a cheerleader for ORC and Jordan Cove, printing claims made by these company executives as facts. Instead of behaving as a news source The World acts as a publicity agent and the editor has come under fire lately from angry citizens.
A historian and a newspaper may be measured by what is written and even more by what is omitted and as the axiom goes, ‘those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it’.
A diligent and independent press is considered a requirement for and regarded as the fourth branch of a healthy democracy. The public cannot participate in its own governance or take action if it doesn’t know the whole truth. A good news organization will challenge elected officials and civic leaders to back up their statements because that is its responsibility. The editorial board revealed its contempt and disdain for any such role, today, in comments regarding Lakeside City Hall and the Coast Lake News.
By nearly anyone’s definition, the Coast Lake News is a newspaper. It prints news, pictures, commentary and ads — much like The World, the New York Times or USA Today. The differences among those publications are matters of degree and nuance: Page count. Circulation. Staff size. Editorial philosophy.
Philosophy is what got under some local officials’ skins. The paper’s publisher/editor/reporter is a nettlesome crusader against City Hall. Officials dealt with the annoyance by deciding the paper didn’t qualify as ‘media” under state law.
Accusing Coast Lake News of being ‘against’ city hall because the paper dares to challenge official statements that do not correspond with facts is both a stretch and untrue. The editor essentially admits The World, so as not to be an annoyance, do not do their job.
In the seven years I have resided in Coos County millions of dollars have flowed through this county in the form of enormous white elephants. The $51M 12″ pipeline. The $35M+ airport terminal. Millions in tax abatement and worthless economic development entities. All sold to the public with help of The World megaphone at the expense of the citizens and to the continued detriment of Coos County. The paper, by providing publicity is complicit and shares responsibility for these white elephants.
The paper shows no signs of altering its own editorial philosophy. Perhaps the papers diminishing subscription numbers reflect a local rebellion.
For more on the devolution of American media watch this
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