Media? It’s a question of fair and balanced

Once again readers continue to reinforce that people who read are not only tunedin to what is happening but are also discerning about what they read.

I got an earful about my last column, “Slammed? Journalists deserve better” that appeared last Sunday.

The column took on what I thought was an undeserved lack of respect for journalists after Greg Gianforte, the then-Republican House candidate from Montana body slammed a reporter he felt was being too aggressive.

The back-lying story was centered around what many people think journalists have become: bearers of fake news that push liberalism and disregards the conservative view.

I stand by what I wrote because as I stated, what I see as I look around the Register’s newsroom are hard-working journalists, not people looking to drum up fake news.

And as I have previously written, the notion that newsrooms are anchored by liberal reporters and editors is pure fiction. We do have our conservative voices and staunch supporters of President Donald Trump.

But just like the country, readers were divided and steadfast in their view of fake news and the media. Some thought the media couldn’t be trusted because a large majority is owned and being controlled by a handful of corporations with an eye on the bottom line, not the truth.

Others told us to push forward and not back down from politicians and conservatives who were punishing all media to appease themselves.

I found only one area where that division was united: Readers thought Gianforte was wrong and no reporter should be attacked for doing his or her job. But they also thought the media was wrong for leaving unchecked the reporter’s “rude and arrogant behavior” that provoked the incident.

But I wanted to find out why our conservative Register readers were so furious with news coverage and why they felt their voices have been rendered mute.

This is not because I am on some lofty perch seeking to disprove their angst and legitimize mine, but because I believe the news media exists to bring fair and balanced information to the people and not to serve as misleading mouthpieces.

So, I rummaged through emails, read and reread the comments under my column and put in calls to a few of the people who read it every Sunday, to get their opinions.

There are two issues here: Whether the media is being unfair to conservatives and whether it is pushing fake news.

And what I found out is — to an extent — is that conservatives have a valid argument; that Trump’s actions are food for fodder; fake news is everywhere and pretty much everyone is responsible for spreading it — and above all, regardless as to what’s in front of them in black and white, conservatives and liberals will only see what their eyes will allow to fit their version of what should be.

For every fake news story associated with a liberal agenda, I found one associated with a conservative agenda.

And what people are willing to believe is extraordinary. But we will get to that. First, let’s tackle why conservatives are upset.

The most curious thing I found was most readers didn’t deny the actual news, but the way it is presented to the public as doom and gloom.

They say headlines and reporting covering Trump’s successes — such as his recent foreign trip — aren’t heralded as achievements but spun negatively as another blow to the country and American people.

They cite the roar over Online: the “Trump/Russia story versus the silence on the Clinton/Russia Uranium deal or the Clinton Foundation/Department of State relationship with Digicell” as examples of inconsistencies in reporting.

And one they see as an even more blatant attempt to cast conservatives in a bad light — the association with alleged white supremacist Jeremy Joseph Christian.

After Christian stabbed to death two men attempting to stop him from killing Muslim women on a train in Portland, media reports aligned him with being a supporter of Trump, because of Christian’s racist tirades, disdain for Muslims and cries of America.

With Trump’s campaign rhetoric, his move to bar people from certain Muslim countries entering the United States, that is not a stretch. But it wasn’t true. Christian supported presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein, a fact that is now known but the damage was done.

As one reader pointed out in an upcoming letter to the Editor railing against me and my fellow tradesmen, the number of votes that sent Trump into the White House clearly shows there is pretty much an equal disparity of views in the country and “until the media can come to grips with their own biased reporting they will continue to be more unpopular than Congress” among conservatives.

Richard Hanley, an associate professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University, said conservatives are right “keeping the media on its toes,” citing research that shows within reporting corps, there is a tendency to lean liberal.

He said the conservative’s point is “justified but not totally as constructed” and believes coverage is “straight down the middle,” citing glowing coverage of the president’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

Jerry Dunklee, a journalism professor at Souther Connecticut State University, said conservative’s argument of unfair media coverage “doesn’t hold water” considering the “significant reach” and “influential” AM radio talk shows — the majority of which are hosted by conservatives — and Fox News.

“That’s a very large megaphone,” he said.

Dunklee said there is nothing new about fake news, citing presidential races during the 1800s that were peppered with fake scandals (though some were true) of bastard children and other unacceptable social norms during the era.

Hanley said the difference now is the “speed and ease” that technology allows news to travel and “it works because it validates pre-existing viewpoints.”

And that’s the problem with fake news and the people who spread it. It comes from the left; it comes from the right; and everywhere in the middle.

All it takes is a glimmer of truth, a few quotes from someone with a title — real or not — and the ability to put it on social media and share it.

Then, they stand back and wait for people to buy into it.

How else do you explain people believing the FBI issued a warrant for former President Barack Obama for an attempted coup to take over the White House or that Trump signed a visa-free travel policy that allows anyone into the country?

There is little doubt the media must do a better job at representing the views of all people. But the public also bears a responsibility to do their own fact checking.

Fake news is fake news but there also must be a willingness by the public to accept it as fact. And if the public is only willing to accept what fits into their world, dangerous times are coming.

Because if what’s out there already is any indication of what’s to come, I’ll leave you with a fake quote attributed to Bette Davis, which is only partially correct but the accepted version:

“Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” James Walker is the senior editor at the Register. He can be reached at 203680-9389 or jwalker@ nhregister.com

James Walker James Walker discusses his latest column at