We citizens have one small chit in our Democracy--the vote. But without a robust and truly free news media, our vote is worth nothing. Knowledge is power, and in an age of moneyed interests—interests that control the media itself—it is the only power, as exercised through our vote, we citizens have a hope of possessing. Advance The Dialog is a tool for the public. It asks the media to follow common sense Rules designed to elicit factual data, Calls Them Out when they do not, and holds them accountable in the performance of their duty as The Fourth Pillar of Democracy.
So Welcome to ATD. I hope you will join me by commenting on my blogs and adding Your Input by Calling Them Out when they break The Rules!
Featured Video! (bottom): FOX News Reports on Carbon Dividend Act (and no one else does!)
The third Democratic debate is coming up, so it’s a good time to weigh in on some of my long-standing campaign and political news coverage pet peeves, many of which have been driving me crazy for years. (Apologies for not preciselyciting the basis for each one–calling myself out, shame on me!)
“When you’re ‘explaining’, you’re losing.” This refers to politicians who are correcting or clarifying a position or statement of theirs, usually after it has come under attack from an opponent, or the press.
The media coverage of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s first debate clash, and the events preceding and following it, offers a lesson (still unlearned!) on the kind of error-compounding pileups that can jettison common sense, and hijack meaningful debate.
First Democratic Debate: Biden & Harris on bussing
The first problem came with the press’s over-focus on Joe Biden’s reference to Strom Thurmond in his statement that he (Biden) ~“worked with segregationists to get bills passed,” while missing his overall point, the need for compromise in legislating.While Biden should have anticipated the reaction he would get to the racially charged … read more »
Maybe Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate activist who gained attention with her “school strike for climate” outside Swedish parliament last year, will finally be the one to sound the alarm on the rocketing rate of climate change, and the dire need and diminishing window for action on it. The ‘big 3’ broadcast networks, ABC, CBS & NBC, certainly aren’t doing it.
There is a saying in the tech industry: garbage in, garbage out. It refers to computers and the fact that, because they cannot differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ input, simply process everything and produce commensurate results. In its description of the phrase, Wikipedia adds: “The principle applies to other fields as well.”
Yes… like our political system, perhaps?
Historically, the media has long favored covering ‘the horse race’ over actual issues in elections. It has been particularly pronounced this year, making Focus On Issues, Not Politics the biggest Rule break of the political season, by far.
Though I was shocked to realize that neither education nor healthcare—two giant issues—were chosen as topics for any of the 3 debates, in the end, it’s still ‘the economy, stupid’. Through all the diversions, and outrageous, unseemly and sad degradation of this election, that is still the take away for me.
Whatever you think of the candidates, too many people really are suffering as the American Dream drifts further and further away, and that’s not going to change until we deal with our chronic reality of stagnant wages and low growth. That is why, though the official topics are Debt … read more »
Cover important issues that impact large numbers of people
or our nation as a whole, and are not being covered. These might include the growing gap between the rich and poor or declining education, and the impact these have on vast segments of the population, or our economy or competitive standing in the world. Don't Cover or dwell on unimportant Topics. more »close
Ask the next logical question. Resist superficial or stalemated
coverage of issues. If competing assertions or data exists, resolve them by asking questions and seeking the correct interpretation of answers. When a question asked is not answered, re-ask it. If it is repeatedly dodged, recognize that at close. more »close
Cite the basis of a claim. When interviewing opposing experts or
polititians, it is impossible to know who is right without identifying or examining the data underlying their respective claims. Doing so holds them accountable. If known data exists that conflicts with a claim, state it and ask for a response. more »close
Focus on covering issues well. Do not discuss strategy or politics
or, in the case of campaigns, the 'horse race', unless that is expressly the topic being covered. When interviewing experts, stick to expertise only of the person. That is what they are there for. more »close
Do not equate two events, statements or other phenomena
as similar or of equal importance if they are not. Identify arguments and choices that are based on false comparisons or equivalencies, and reject them as such. Contradiction and Double Standard are other rules that fall under this class of logic inconsistency. more »close
Enter the news report, show, date, reporter and ATD Rule break, or just use your own words to Call Them Out.
Your Call Outs! (& mine)
Tonight, Judy Woodruff of News Hour asked former Attorney General (under Pres. George W. Bush) Mike Mukasey about the legality of Trump's quest for foreign investigation of Joe Biden (a political rival) & his son, Hunter. Mukasey said: ~"Presidents have been [asking] foreign leaders for aid in their reelection campaigns for decades." I wish Woodruff had Asked the Question: "What kind of aid?" She did ask if Bush did it. (An incensed reply of ~"No!") mimiv (admin) 10/3/19
In response to a question about the Ukraine call whistleblower's identity, President Trump referred to the wb as ~"reporting things incorrectly." The White House Press Corp should have asked him to Cite the Basis for that. The video made the rounds on cable shows & was fact checked to be untrue using the White House's own transcript of the call, but the WHPC continues to pass up opportunities to press Trump, directly, on his statements. This isn't rocket science, media! mimiv (admin) 10/1/19
In the intro to his 60 Minutes "Impeachment Inquiry" story, Scott Pelley inserted the opinion: "It appears Washington will be immobilized by this the 13 months before election day." Mr. Pelley, the candidates say they can 'walk & chew gum at the same time', and there will be other news events happening. Your job is to cover all of that! Focus on Issues, Not Politics, please. mimiv (admin) 9/30/19
On the flip side of the previous call out (Trump's accusation of corruption by the Bidens, below) is the news media's (CNN & MSNBC) own Sin of Omission in not covering what Hunter Biden's work as a board member for Ukrainian gas company Burisma actually entailed. It's not enough for the media to, over and over again, simply dismiss Trump's accusation as "unsubstantiated". When an event is important enough to start an impeachment inquiry, cover it fully! Omitting one side of a story opens the door to claims of Fake News. mimiv (admin) 9/25/19
To President Trump's repeated claim of corruption by Joe Biden & his son Hunter in relation to their involvement in the Ukraine, the White House Press Corp should demand Trump Cite the Basis of that claim. The news outlets should, similarly, do so when they replay those clips. Cite the Basis is the simplest, most direct way to send a message to people in power that verification of claims like this is mandatory. It should be used as often as necessary. mimiv (admin) 9/25/19
This is a minor call out, but it really bugs me when 60 Minutes advertises reruns as "new", when all that's new is a short update at the end of each story. If you Mischaracterize the content on your own show promo, that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in your journalistic integrity now, does it? mimiv (admin) 9/24/19
A little late in posting this but I couldn't believe it when neither CNN nor MSNBC even mentioned Andrew Yang in their post-second-debate analysis, which lasted over an hour. Completely ignoring a presidential candidate in this manner is a MAJOR Sin of Omission. Hey, try to remember, media, we're picking the winner, not you. mimiv (admin) 9/24/19
On News Hour, David Brooks referred to the backing of a carbon tax by several Democratic candidates as "a big breakthrough". Though acknowledging the tax's support by both right & left economists, he added "no politician ever says that 'cuz taxing this stuff is very politically unpopular". I'm calling a Sin of Omission in his failing to mention the Carbon Dividend Act (introduced in Jan.) that pays dividends back to the public, thereby neutralizing the tax! Also, the bill had bipartisan support (though only 1 Repub). mimiv (admin) 9/6/19
Speaking about gun violence on the News Hour, Aug. 19, Pres. Trump said: “I don’t want people to forget that this is a mental health problem.” Mr. Trump: please Cite the Basis for that claim. The NYT reports only “1 in 5 mass murders shows evidence of psychosis”. mimiv (admin), 8/20/19
“Call Out” to the moderators of both Democratic primary debates for failing to push the major contenders on specific climate change plans. This is a leading – probably THE leading – issue we face. KV 8/15/19
