Media to Trump: 'You're just so mean'

One of the many scripts that recycle themselves and play out randomly these days in the media is how they are treated so horribly by President Donald Trump.

Those poor 90-pound weaklings are constantly getting bullied and having sand kicked in their face by that big guy with the bad comb-over of yellow hair.

Yeah right, those who buy ink by the barrel, newsprint in box cars and rule so much of the airwaves cry foul when someone takes issue with “reporting” that is pretty much proven to be is immensely one-dimensional.

This alleged persecution reminds me in some ways of the days a couple of decades ago when I’d hear, “You’re just so mean,” after having to deal with rare discipline issues from teenage daughters.

They never seemed to understand that when my wife and I got mad, there was usually a good reason. We would never sweat the small stuff, even though as teenagers, they sometimes had a hard time understanding the difference.

Not all that different I say when it comes to media bias, whether it’s sprinkled into coverage like seasoning, or slathered like barbecue sauce.

A Pew Research poll from last fall revealed some statistics which seem to bear that out.

According to a story at npr.org, “Fully two-thirds of news stories about Trump from his first 60 days in office were negative by that definition — more than twice the negativity seen in stories from the first 60 days of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush or Barack Obama’s presidencies.” Another element of that poll shows that 69 percent of stories on Trump deal with personality, not policy while Obama was split 50-50.While news outlets would like us to believe their every word — and many in this country take what they hear or read as Gospel — one has to remember some important pieces of recent history when it comes to those who purport to be all-knowing.

Leading up to Nov. 8, 2016 there was a landslide of epic proportions in the making in the election for president. It was all but guaranteed, you know, because so many polls said so.

So many in the national media staked their now dubious reputations — doubling, tripling and quadrupling down — that they were right.

But when Nov. 9 dawned, a bizarre sucker punch knocked them loopy.

And instead of retiring to their corner and refusing to resume the failed fight, so many keep getting their collective bells rung, noses bloodied, eyes blackened and swollen shut. They have flailed away with weakened punches and have watched credibility suffer with the American public.

Gallup recently released a poll that indicated a full 62 percent of Americans believe the media is biased. But worse are other Gallup numbers that tell us trust in news found on television and in newspapers rivals that found on the Internet — hovering around 20 percent.

No doubt about it, the guy with the long neckties brings a lot of it on himself. But does everything, even recent news of the second quarter’s 4.1 GDP growth have to often be tainted with negativity?

It’s too bad more people don’t know — or care to know — when they are being fed a line, whether it’s on ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC or NBC. That they do not take a few minutes to jump out of their comfort zone and maybe search out other information?

Recently, a guest opinion piece in our regional daily newspaper penned by a member of the Society of Professional Journalists sought to take up the plight of how tortured members of the Fourth Estate had become under Trump.

But how are we to respect operations like the Associated Press and New York Times who conduct public records searches of the emails of Supreme Court Justice candidate Brett Kavanaugh’s wife, Ashley? At last check she is not seeking Congressional approval?

I’ve always held that curiosity is part of what makes for a good journalist. That ability to ask questions and not just be spoon-fed and repeat what we were told.

From my standpoint, how today’s media operate isn’t necessarily a matter of being truthful or not. It’s being willing to find something that could rock steeled beliefs and report on that.

It used to be the pursuit of the truth, no matter where the truth led, was a foundation of journalism.

I’m not sure that rings as true as it should these days.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.