EDITORIAL DEFENDS FIRST AMENDMENT, BUT ATTACKS PRESIDENT FOR HIS OPINION
The Anchorage Daily News is one of 350 newspapers across the country that published editorials today defending the news media and shaming the president for his constant criticism of the same.
It was oxymoronic in that the press was defending its free speech rights, while trying to explain why the president should not have a platform for his opinion.
The editorial started this way: “‘Fake news.’ It’s been repeated so frequently that it’s become a tired joke.”
Yet it was only last month that a member of the ADN editorial board blasted Must Read Alaska for publishing “fake news,” when MRAK had the temerity to report that the newspaper was giving free ads to Gov. Bill Walker when it embedded a link inside one of his opinion pieces that sent readers directly to a blatantly campaign-style video ad. Several newspapers in the state allowed that free ad for the governor, and several corrected it after MRAK pointed out the bias.
MRAK’s critical coverage was “fake news.”
In the mainstream media’s world, fake news is only fake when the mainstream media says it is.
Alaska’s news media has never owned up to its organized pack-attack on former Gov. Sarah Palin. It’s never owned up to the media gang takedown of Gov. Sean Parnell over the ginned-up National Guard scandal.
The ADN itself has never come clean about its role in installing Gov. Bill Walker by not standing up editorially to what should have been determined an illegally jiggered post-primary ticket of Walker-Mallott.
But now? The #metoo movement has hit the editorial page of the ADN, which takes the president’s criticism of news reporting personally.
At no point in the ADN editorial does the editorial board hold its own industry responsible for the lies and distortions peddled daily to discredit the Trump Administration and all who serve in it.
“Informed criticism of the media is normal, even healthy for our democracy. But branding the press as the enemy and threatening actions that would curtail First Amendment protections for free speech and the free press isn’t just wrongheaded, it’s dangerous,” the editorial continues.
And then, for the kill: The ADN blames, not the media, but the rest of the writers and commentators who take on the media daily:
“To be clear, some of the fault for perceptions of bias in the media lies with outlets that have blurred the lines between which content is news and which is opinion. In particular, cable news networks such as FOX News and MSNBC, which have aligned their commentary with ideological factions, have lent credence to the notion that the media is pushing an agenda rather than focusing on balanced reporting.”
In their world, the blur between news and opinion is only occurring in the “bad media,” as defined by this editorial. They leave the reader no doubt that the mainstream media wants conservative voices to be disregarded. The newspaper never attacks the far left-wing alternative media, only those coming from the right side of the political spectrum.
Fortunately for conservatives, the playing field is a bit more level than in the old days, when newspapers controlled the narrative. Outlets such as Must Read Alaska and the Anchorage Daily Planet exist in large part to keep the mainstream “good old boys” honest.
“But the vast majority of U.S. journalists don’t deserve to be tarred by accusations of bias. They go out every day and tell their communities’ stories, making every effort to be fair and accurate in their coverage. When they make errors, it is the result of honest misunderstanding, not an insidious agenda.”
That, dear reader, is clearly a matter of the newspaper’s opinion, not fact.
The Anchorage Daily News is VERY FAKE NEWS
Sad!
I thought maybe ADN might come around…not so, huh?
It proves the point loud and clear people are looking for honesty not being told what to think group thought is lazy look at Bruce oar oh yeah that’s not news
Do people actually read the Anchorage Daily Planet ?
read it every day
Some would say back when that they use the daily news to wrap their fish.
I have always wondered why someone would wrap their fish in used toilet paper?
ADN has nothing to do with news. I call them, Anchorage Daly Fraud. Just like NPR, CNN, MSNBC, Etc.. I believe their purpose is to insure Anchorage, and the rest of the state becomes the Portland of the North. Just wait until they start stumping for Dear Mark. If our people don’t get out the vote, the once great state of Alaska will become the same Marxist cesspools we see on the East and West coasts.
The news media has created their own mess. They have only themselves to blame and until they recognize how far they have strayed from real reporting, and then find it within themselves to actually seek truth, report the whole story and not just the parts they like, verify facts and use primary sources, there is no hope.
The ADN never attacks, as it is put in the column, “the far left wing alternative media” because the reporters and editors do not have enough intelligence or life experience to recognize that so much of what has become “progressive” thought suffers from serious flaws. In short, criticism of the left does not occur because virtually everyone in the “mainstream” media agrees with the Left’s worldview.
Instead of recognizing the problems with the groupthink surrounding the 2016 election, the “mainstream” media doubled-down on their approach. And that brings us to where we are today – more deeply divided than ever with a rising possibility of violence. I personally recommend that people try to listen to one another and make an attempt to recognize whether the other person might have a valid point. It is a start. The ADN should consider this approach.
The other mistake that the ADN makes is to uncritically reprint stores from the New York Times and the Washington Post. These two outlets ceasing being objective news sources quite some time ago but the ADN prints their stories as if they are the received truth. The ADN is not alone in this error; Channel 2 News runs stories from NBC that are horribly slanted.
The ADN still faces very difficult financial challenges. If they want to increase their circulation, they should consider trying to present more balanced news coverage and provide space for views other than those of their mascots, like Charles Wohlforth.
There is no more news, just editorials.
Didn’t read any of the commentary. Did anyone write anything worthwhile?
Interestingly, the very liberal Seattle Times wrote that they found no need to join the herd of newspapers that expressed righteous indignation at the president. The Seattle Times is confident in its role in the public discourse and doesn’t feel the need to get defensive.
New ownership……same old Pinko Commie bravo sierra.
That’s because this delusional mindset of the Seattle Times has become a national epidemic, and apparently the new norm. Their level of narcissism blocks and disrupts rational thoughts. Sadly, they won’t comprehend this until we become just like Venezuela.
I’m glad I found this Must Read AK website. It’s very nice to know there are still quite a few people capable of critical thinking .
Re MRAK’s comment “We agree with the newspaper that the media is not the enemy of the people”:
How are you defining “people”?
At this point I believe the bulk of what is commonly thought of as main stream media (MSM) is most certainly the enemy of the people, as the majority of the people voted Trump into office, and especially the enemy of the U.S. Constitution.
If not for the struggles of the lesser media outlets such as MRAK, our “news”, lol, would be the equivalent of Pravda.
Re MRAK’s comment “We agree with the newspaper that the media is not the enemy of the people”:
How are you defining “people”?
At this point I believe the bulk of what is commonly thought of as main stream media (MSM) is most certainly the enemy of the people, as the majority of the people voted Trump into office, and especially the enemy of the U.S. Constitution.
If not for the struggles of the lesser media outlets such as MRAK, our “news”, lol, would be the equivalent of Pravda.
*first-time commenter here*
Today’s young reporters think they need a safe space free of emotional triggers, free of conflict. Meanwhile 71 journalists were killed world-wide, none in the USA, in 2017. The press in this country doesn’t need to worry about Trump. The American press is flabby.
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