Fake News

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One Caribbean Nation.




by Michael Headley
Apparently the print and television media are happy with the much touted 'fake news' awards which were  released by President Donald Trump on January 17.  In his opinion, they had earned them because of blatant erroneous reporting about him.  There were no threats of suing by the awardees and no complaints were made to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for unfair treatment.  

The infamous first prize was given to the New York Times financial guru  Paul Krugman, who later claimed that he had overreacted by predicting, in an Op-ed, after Trump's election, that the stock market would 'never' recover under a Trump presidency.  Ironically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to 26,000points on January 16 for the first time in its history, coupled with positive job growth numbers.   Cable Network News (CNN) topped the awards by receiving four,for various questionable reports from a few of its commentators.  And the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) suspended famed reporter Brian Ross, and banned him from future reporting on President Trump, because of a bungled report on Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor.

Since the 2016 U.S.  presidential election, some segments of the media seem to have relinquished their journalistic responsibilities and it appears as though facts no longer matter when reporting.  Producing factual reports is a tenant of journalistic responsibility and journalists should not be influenced by political partisanship, pressure from superiors, competition, or prevailing winds and falsify the facts.  Some Journalists have even lost they objectivity and rather than fact-check, choose to use here-say instead to get a story out. The media should not be acting as an arm of the government or the opposition, as they disseminate information to the public. That behavior is more akin to dictatorships. 

Is it too much to ask for media independence and respect for the profession?  Journalists, keep your integrity and credibility  intact by getting back to basics and distinguish yourselves from political hacks and commentators.  Sensationalizing the news, to get top ratings, should not be the ultimate goal.

We hope that journalists can also  refrain from the herd mentality and be leaders and not followers, of those, whose sinister goal is to destroy individuals and ideas that they disagree with.  If they do the 'fake news' awards will quickly become a thing of the past, and rightfully so.

MICHAEL HEADLEY
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK



Michael Headley is a social commentator




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