Lying to the Public

Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'

FCC investigates video releases

FCC Investigates TV Stations for Airing Fake News

Whether a conspiracy or 'mere' sloppiness, the result is the same: journalists not doing their job. There are so many sides to this problem I don't know where to start.

First: presenting something other than a news segment as if it were a news segment, even if a specific segment is quite innocuous, makes it easier for the next faux-news segment, that *is* biased, to make it on the air.

Second: presenting something other than a news segment as if it were a news segment, puts journalists and their producers in a position of reliance on the outside source providing that VNR. No longer gathering and reporting the news, but simply passing along material without thinking about it. This eviscerates the entire profession of *gathering* and *reporting* *news*, making a hollow mockery of what should be a proud calling.

Third: such evisceration diminishes the profession's power to stand up to those who would manipulate the media, and by extension, the public. Taking the easy road by using VNRs? Why not take the easy road and censor when the White House asks you to? I'm not saying it's the next step directly, just a slippery slope. Anything that abdicates journalistic power is a step down that slope.

Fourth: misleading the public. Faked news is lying to the public. This is the exact opposite of what journalists are supposed to do. Journalists are witnesses to events most of us cannot attend. What we need is not "balanced" reporting, or VNRs, but accurate reporting: who, what, when, where, how, and why.