I began my career running the campus radio station at Boston University, where I gave Howard Stern his start by firing him from his weekly show. He was then hired at a small, daytime AM station outside of Boston, where it didn't take long for him to be noticed by programmers at much larger operations.
After graduating from BU, I worked in local radio news covering Board of Selectmen, City Council, and School Committee meetings. I also had a daily talk show and free lanced for a newspaper. Years later when community cable outlets became popular, I hosted programs on those channels.
Since I wasn't willing to make the sacrifices necessary to move to larger markets, I crossed the divide and started a career in corporate media. I worked with dozens of reporters locally and, as I climbed the ladder, across the US and Canada.
For many years, I was employed by utilities, where I was the on camera company face and interacted directly with print, radio, and TV reporters anytime a storm was brewing; a wind turbine fell over, or a controversy about a rate increase became news.
I've also been teaching communications on the college level for 25 years. So, it's been my responsibility to pay attention to what is happening in my profession.
As a result, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on legitimate news operations, their reporters, and how they operate.
Why am I telling you this?
Because I continue to be amazed by the fantasies, half truths, and just plain fallacies that I see people accept as gospel -- especially from so called internet or obviously biased "news" sites.
Two examples.
President Trump had a stroke. I'm admittedly not a fan of the man, but he trips up a set of stairs and moves awkwardly to catch his balance and that is somehow evidence he had a stroke. Or his hand shakes at a wreath laying ceremony. Or, he's drinking "too much" water, while giving a speech.
Here's what I know from working within the business over the years. If the President actually had a stroke, (mini or otherwise) a reporter from a legitimate news operation would flush out the information. Someone at the hospital would leak the medical report. Sources in the White House or Capitol Hill would provide details. And every media outlet would cover the story.
Or, Joe Biden has dementia. The former Vice President has a stuttering problem. Can he also appear to get lost sometimes when speaking? Yes. (Especially when the video is edited.)
But, here's what I know. If, in fact, Biden has dementia, someone would have come forward by now either from his campaign, a friend, or maybe even his family. A reporter -- maybe one who has covered him for years -- would ferret it out. And every media outlet would cover it.
These are not "liberal" or "conservative" media stories. If Fox News received solid information that the President had a stroke, they would report it. If the New York Times had evidence that Joe Biden was suffering from dementia, they would run with it.
Stories from websites that don't list Boards of Directors, editorial staffs, or sources need to be questioned. If they are listed, do some research. I've checked out sites from postings that friends have shared and discovered that they were based outside of the country and/or had editors, who previously worked for pro-Russian publications.
The web addresses may be different, but many of these so called news sites (on both sides of the fence) also look remarkably similar and have the same content.
Any story from a parody website needs to be dismissed. I finally had to block someone, who insists that what is written on an obviously satirical site is true and that the information has been "covered up by the liberal media."
It's our responsibility to be sure that our sources of information are trustworthy. Rachel Maddow or Tucker Carlson aren't the second coming of Walter Cronkite. No one has assumed the mantle of "Most Trusted Man (or Woman) in America."
Those days are over.
That's what I know.
No comments:
Post a Comment