Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
So I’m a little confused by the world, right now.
I mean, here we are in the so-called “Information Age” and it’s pretty-much impossible anymore to know if the information we’re getting is true, or how much of it is an outright lie.
The mainstream media hasn’t been that much help along the way, what with its obsessive need to feed the ravenous 24-hour news cycle, and its tragic addiction to posting something “breaking” or having something “new” to report. Fact is, the difference between “true” and “not-so-much-true” seems to have become less important than getting the story up first.
LANCE ARMSTRONG: As for Lance Armstrong; thanks for nothing. I wanted to believe you all these years, and I stubbornly refused to accept the jealous accusations thrown at you by the French press. And how do you repay loyal fans? With a huge, steaming, rotting, smelly pack of bald-faced lies, stacked upon lies of convenience, piled up on top of the lies made up to cover the other lies.
And what’s with this story surrounding this Heisman Trophy runner-up football player from Notre Dame? Did any of the reporters who kept repeating the story about his (fictional) “girlfriend’s” death even think about checking even one of the facts? No, of course not; it was too good a story to pass up, so they didn’t even “Google” her name.
And don’t even get me started on the politicians….
IT’S CALLED “REPORTING.” When we go to the library to look for a book, everything’s nicely organized in the racks. We can browse through “fiction,” or “non-fiction;” it’s pretty clear-cut what we’re looking at.
But when it comes to the news, there’s a whole other array of options. There’s “sensationalism,” “propaganda,” “gossip,” “hyperbole,” “spin,” “liberal agenda,” “conservative bias,” “party-line,” “entertainment,” “polling data (funded by who?)” “PR,” and more.
What happened to simple, thorough, “this is what we learned and here are our sources” reporting?
TRUST: There’s a lot that we can do as individuals to improve the world that we live in. We can be salt and light in our communities, we can work to encourage and build up people, we can give our all to promote “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8).
But when it comes to trust we’re going to need one-another’s help:
- I can’t single-handedly restore credibility to government; that’s something we have to work for together (and irrespective of party affiliation).
- You can’t change the predilection of our culture to exaggerate, to lie, and to bear false witness; that’s going to take a consistent demonstration (and celebration) of the beauty of truth by the majority of the rest of us.
- No single individual has the power to turn off the relentless stream of trash and gossip that defines so much of television; that’s going to take a deliberate commitment to decency by every single one of us who says we value what is right (and that number should count in the tens of millions).
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get the ball rolling; are you on board?
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
– DEREK
Derek, have you seen the documentary Outfoxed? It details, with heavy bias, the way Fox distorts and “controls” the news. As I watched a mental b-roll was playing in my brain, instances of NBC, CNN and MSNBC doing the same things. When my wife and I watched that video she turned to me and asked: “You’re a journalist…who do YOU trust.”
My answer: I nearly said, “nobody,” but that felt trite. So, instead, I opted for: the source. But in today’s world of corporate controlled media and anonymous political donations…do we even know who the source is? It keeps me going in circles.
All that to say this, I appreciate your call to action, but I’m not certain that people, far too busy and lacking in-depth training in covert persuasive communication techniques, can even know what the facts are anymore.
So, I’m on board with your CTA, but…What, in your opinion, are the next steps for a public starved for accuracy and integrity in their facts?
Short answer is I believe it’s our responsibility to be guarded and skeptical and aware that “nuanced” news is ubiquitous; I believe we should demonstrate zero tolerance as voters and consumers when it comes to being lied to; I believe we should not only stop watching trash and sensationalist TV, but we should write the networks and tell them why we’re not watching any more; I believe we should try to identify how our choices as consumers support the “credibility is optional” culture… And more. But people need to behave economically in a way that supports their protestations and their (supposed) values…. Ooops, I’m ranting a little bit 🙂
Rant away. I tend to get all ranty on this topic myself. I guess the question, cut closer to the bone, is this: How can we, communicators who care about journalistic integrity, help others who simply – and honestly – do not know who to believe? I believe that you are doing this by encouraging people to “live” life. To be loving and aware…am I trying to make a system out of something that should be organic here?
and, no, I haven’t seen that documentary, but I’ve probably thought it…
GREAT DEREK ! and I really mean that ! It is TRUE !! A fact ! Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:49:54 +0000 To: gracedavidmaul@msn.com
Adam and Derek, I think the place to start – and one that is positive – is contained in the blog. Celebrate the beauty of truth. Celebrate greatly and publicly the courage, conviction, integrity, honor, honesty, (and the myriad of other descriptors) that accompany truth. That’d be a good ball to get rolling.
Great comment, Jesse
So what happened to the ‘journalists’? Those dedicated news folk that reported the news and only the news. That news was authenticated; fact checked and re-fact checked before airing or publication. Only a very few who believe in the authenticity of journalistic excellence still remain. Sadly, Huntley, Brinkley, Murrow, Reasoner, Cronkite and others are no longer in our midst to insure reporters don’t just worship their work, but put their integrity for the profession into to practice. I think, if he were alive, my favorite of the pioneering journalists is Eric Sevareid. His essays, as he liked to call them, were a feature of the CBS Evening during Cronkite’s run. As a kid I marveled at his use of language and how he could express disagreement or criticism in a respectful way. I think he would shudder at what journalism has become. So, if you’re an aspiring writer or want to go into journalism, go get a copy of Sevareid’s ‘Canoeing With the Cree’ or ‘Not So Wild a Dream’ and seek out the stories of how the giant pioneers in medias 20th century reported.