Democrats call for special counsel to investigate Republicans is not news
Posted by John Reed on
I am a journalist. Have been since 1976.
The first rule of journalism is “get your facts straight.” The second rule is “only do man bites dog stories, not dog bites man stories.”
Somewhere down the list is “get both sides of the story.” But that does not, in my opinion, trump the “man-bites-dog” rule.
So why do the media report stories with the following general themes?
• Democrats criticize Trump
• Democrats call for investigation of Republicans
• Democrats call for appointment of special counsel to investigate Republicans
• Democrats allege “ties” to [insert bad guy here]
• Democrats allege smoke that must mean Republican scandal fire
• Democrats accuse Trump of fascism
• Democrats accuse Trump of being the second coming of Nixon
• Democrats accuse Trump of being the second coming of Hitler
• Democrats accuse Trump of misogyny
• Democrats attack Trump timing [or any other noun]
• Colbert uses crude language to attack Trump
• Democrats call for House investigation of Republicans
• Democrats call for Senate investigation of Republicans
None of this is news. Rather, it is partisan “re-education” of the American people à la George Orwell’s 1984 or daily North Korean broadcasts to their people about the evidence America is satan.
The correct story, if journalists adhered to their first two rules, would be: “Trump fires Comey” with a subtitle: “the usual Democrat suspects say their usual hair-on-fire, partisan things.” That complies with the “both sides of the story” rule without violating the “man bites dog” rule.
If and when the Democrats have something NEW to say, like one of Trump’s cabinet level nominees is a good choice, report it. And there is nothing wrong with reporting a Democrat condemnation of Trump, as long as it’s something NEW, not the same old knee-jerk talking points listed above.
The first rule of journalism is “get your facts straight.” The second rule is “only do man bites dog stories, not dog bites man stories.”
Somewhere down the list is “get both sides of the story.” But that does not, in my opinion, trump the “man-bites-dog” rule.
So why do the media report stories with the following general themes?
• Democrats criticize Trump
• Democrats call for investigation of Republicans
• Democrats call for appointment of special counsel to investigate Republicans
• Democrats allege “ties” to [insert bad guy here]
• Democrats allege smoke that must mean Republican scandal fire
• Democrats accuse Trump of fascism
• Democrats accuse Trump of being the second coming of Nixon
• Democrats accuse Trump of being the second coming of Hitler
• Democrats accuse Trump of misogyny
• Democrats attack Trump timing [or any other noun]
• Colbert uses crude language to attack Trump
• Democrats call for House investigation of Republicans
• Democrats call for Senate investigation of Republicans
None of this is news. Rather, it is partisan “re-education” of the American people à la George Orwell’s 1984 or daily North Korean broadcasts to their people about the evidence America is satan.
The correct story, if journalists adhered to their first two rules, would be: “Trump fires Comey” with a subtitle: “the usual Democrat suspects say their usual hair-on-fire, partisan things.” That complies with the “both sides of the story” rule without violating the “man bites dog” rule.
If and when the Democrats have something NEW to say, like one of Trump’s cabinet level nominees is a good choice, report it. And there is nothing wrong with reporting a Democrat condemnation of Trump, as long as it’s something NEW, not the same old knee-jerk talking points listed above.
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