Alarm Bells are Ringing and Major Media is Asleep at the Wheel

Alarm Bells are Ringing and Major Media is Asleep at the Wheel

Here's an important journalism practices article published yesterday by Dan Froomkin of Press Watch.  It's long but will be well worth your time.

My takeaway: Our major media - NY Times, Washington Post, NPR , ...are failing us exactly when we most need them to shine a light, to call things by their true names, to warn the public of the danger ahead and to advocate for setting things right. 

If you don't have time for the full article, here are some excerpts

"People who know and care about elections and democracy frantically sounded the alarm on Wednesday as Donald Trump’s intention to steal the election became undeniable.

"The New York Times put its article on Trump refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power on page A15. The Washington Post story was on A4.

"And the Atlantic had published Barton Gellman’s terrifying, detailed article describing scenarios in which Trump “uses his power to prevent a decisive outcome against him.”

"Gellman actually buried ... the lede, which was that he had proof that “the Trump campaign is discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority.” 

"Trump fully intends the Supreme Court – not the voters – to make the call. And that of course is because his campaign strategy is not to win a majority of the votes, just to win enough to be able to toss things to the lawyers.  [Emphasis added]

"[Question to The President] Do you commit to making sure that there’s a peaceful transferal of power?

"[The President]  We want to have — get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very trans- — we’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly; there’ll be a continuation.  The ballots are out of control.  [Emphasis added] 

"There is only one legitimate, decent, normal answer to that question: “Of course.”

"[H]is inability to say “of course” was epic: the stuff of which history is made; the stuff of banner headlines [But unfortunately not in the NYTimes or Wapo].

"But as usual, to capture the real drama of what’s going on, you have to go to the opinion writers – and the editorial cartoonists.

"So here is the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, explaining that “what really matters here is that Trump is making an actual declaration of intent — not just to refuse to respect the outcome, but rather to try to cancel and override it, if he is able to get away with it.” [Emphasis Added]

"Why ignore the alarms?

"So the big question then is: Why did senior editors decide to bury the story?

"They’ve gotten used to printing lies. They barely squawk when Trump calls them the “enemy of the people.” ... They just continue to “do the work.”

"The more immediate cause, however, is that these newsroom leaders made a considered, intentional decision not to panic after Trump was elected. This was an epic, obvious mistake, and everything that has happened since was in some sense entirely predictable.

"They should have gone on a war footing – and by that I don’t mean a partisan war against Trump, I mean a journalistic war against lies, ignorance and intolerance.

"They decided their normal methods of covering a president were appropriate – and, even if they weren’t, were too important to modify for just one. So they got used to writing stories about whatever Trump said, like this was normal.

"They decided to keep a level head.

"And now they can’t suddenly change their behavior. Partly, it’s inertia. But it’s also because that would be admitting that maybe they were wrong before. And they’re too proud to admit they’re wrong.

"So they don’t listen to the people warning them of the extraordinary danger ahead. They muffle the alarms, hand out earplugs, close the windows, and tell everyone to continue business as usual.