"I read Maggie
Haberman's op-ed and I have some thoughts.
"For me, it boils down to
accountability. Journalists need to be accountable for their work. We
are bombarded with stories about how the Trump voter feels. We are
bombarded with stories on how neo-Nazis are normal people.
"We are bombarded
with stories about how Bernie Sanders speaks for an entire party. During
2015 and 2016 we were bombarded with stories about emails and how Hillary
Clinton wasn't likable. This isn't just in print, online, it is also on
our TV screens. This continues today.
"We are given
stories as breaking news, that end up having been leaked by Trump and
the people around him and we're tricked into thinking they come from
someone else. Members of the media sometimes spread what is in essence
propaganda that poisons the electorate. This isn't right.
"Studies have
showed just how skewed the coverage has been. What is often pushed to us
is conservative talking points. Someone recently posted about how
little the coverage of The New York Times quoted actual Democrats. But they are
quick to promote how Democrats 'are in disarray.'
"The media actively
withholds stories that may be consequential. For example, on Thursday
it was revealed that [emails to and from Bernie Sanders adviser] Tad Devine are in evidence for Paul Manafort's
trial. Not one media outlet has covered this as of yet. Instead, Bernie
Sanders will be interviewed about a rally in Kansas... we are [also] treated to
stories about how the Democratic Party is afraid of Bernie Sanders's
wing. How is this fair and balanced coverage? The truth is that it is
not, and it can get frustrating for us.
"We turn on
channels like CNN and we get panels with right wingers who lie about
everything and get very little pushback... We are bombarded with segments on Trump voter panels
when the Trump voters are a little over 19% of the US population.
"Democrats are
doing things, like Nancy Pelosi, who went in on Trump this week. The only
reason I knew she did that was because of Twitter. None of this gets
covered. What we get is stories on how she needs to retire because of
age. What we get is right-wing talking points.
"Protests led by Adam Parkhomenko have been going on in front of the White House since Trump returned from
Helsinki. Were it not for Twitter and Rachel Maddow, I wouldn't know
about it. Instead, we get panels on if the Trump voter agrees with what
he did in Helsinki.
"The press as a
whole is supposed to be the fourth estate. They are supposed to keep the
US population fully informed. While they do some things well, there are
areas where they have failed us greatly. We should be able to hold
members of the media accountable and have them hear us.
"We should be able
to hold them accountable without having them write op-eds saying we are
nasty, which is what I think Maggie Haberman's op-ed is. I understand
how she feels but she needs to understand us. We don't want the media to
be partisan. We want fair and balanced coverage.
"We want the media
to give us the coverage that we deserve. We want the media to stop
being interested in press access and to be more interested in
providing the coverage that keeps us informed on where things actually
stand in this country. That isn't much to ask.
"It isn't much to
ask for the members of the media to have a discussion with the voters,
with us and to listen to us. It isn't much to ask the media to
acknowledge ways in which they failed us in 2015-2016 and how they
continue to fail us today... Accountability."
—@lynnv378
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