The 4th Estate - An Embarrassment

By

?

L. J. Martin

A member of the Society of Professional Journalists

As we launch into a year of a presidential election, and as you’ll be bombarded by political advertisements from both parties, and so-called news from the major newspapers and networks, let me give you a heads up:

I have personally witnessed more than one instance of lies and deception from the press, both print and broadcast. When I was a young man, I watched an interview of a prominent local businessman by a 60 Minute crew, then watched the reporting of that interview on television. The editor of that interview not only edited, he manipulated, actually changing answers to comply with the program and networks lies and preferences about the subject at hand. That experience led me to doubt so called news, and worse, so call unbiased commentary, from television sources.

?

I already had good reason to doubt newspapers as I was involved in a near riot in Bakersfield Junior College’s football stadium when two of my buddies, sitting next to me, picked up a girl to pass her around overhead, a goofy college thing at the time, and her sweater came off in their hands. Luckily it was a day when girls wore slips. She, as should have been expected, ran to the cops and a very young, inexperienced, cop waved my friends out from the middle of the row. I watched them go and only after a time, a delay that upset the young officer, realized he wanted me as well. He was angry when I made my way out of the aisle and immediately shoved my arm up behind me, even though I was complying in every way, until I feared he was going to break it. My reaction was a self-preservation left hook that unfortunately knocked him down a dozen concrete stairs and broke his arm. I only relate this as the Bakersfield Californian, our local newspaper reported the next day that we had “molested a girl UNDER the stadium.” So much for truth in reporting. It took me a year to unwind that incident and I was totally exonerated. I also learned about ‘eyewitness testimony’ as football fans from across the field, testified I was involved. Depositions a foot deep had every possible kind of misobservance. However, I’m sure lots of parents told their daughters, “Don’t date that scum ball.”

?

Now, one would hope that the press might have learned something over the years. Not so. As you probably know I’m conservative in my political beliefs even though somewhat liberal in my social ones. And I read and watch all I can possibly consume from both sides of the spectrum. I’ve just finished reading the last book by uber Liberal Allen Dershowitz entitled THE PRICE OF PRINCIPLE. Even long before he was chastised by other libs for defending Trump in the impeachment fiasco, I respected him for his honest and evenhanded treatment of all as a defense attorney. I can recommend his book. I want to point out two incidences, from his book, of what he was privy to and how he was treated by what we know is a 96% liberal press.

?

Do you recall the George Zimmerman case? He shot Trayvon Martin in what a Florida jury later concluded was a legitimate act of self-defense. In reporting the incident, the local NBC affiliate and later THE TODAY SHOW related Zimmerman’s call to police as “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks Black.” When the actual call was Zimmerman: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just looking around.” The PD: “Okay and this guy, is he Black, white or Hispanic?” Zimmerman: “He looks Black.”

?

The second Dershowitz incident was CNN taking a quote of his when he said, “A president could be impeached when he engaged in ‘quid pro quo’ that ‘were in some way illegal or unlawful.” CNN deliberately edited to remove the words illegal and unlawful. Reporting exactly the opposite of his intent.

?

The editor and reporter who changed the narrative of that call should be prosecuted for inciting a riot and held liable for all the damages done by the fools who riot due to lies told by those reporters.

?

Selective and edited reporting to sensationalize an incident is what you and I should recognize as lying and action as dangerous as yielding a knife or gun. And our newspapers and networks do it on a daily basis.

?