It was the first day of a college journalism class, and I was practically dizzy with idealistic anticipation. Then it happened. As the professor was introducing the syllabus, he came to the subject of “straight news reporting,” the meat of journalism. The phrase describes those news stories that pepper the front page and evokes images of gutsy journalists chasing Pulitzers. It supposedly distinguishes the reporting of news events from features or comics or, more importantly,…
“Fake news” is hardly new. Journalists, media spokespersons, and school yard gossips have been faking news since the day Eve pointed at Adam and said, “He made me do it.” But based on the attention it has received the last two years, you would think no one had ever heard of it before Donald Trump came along. Last weekend President Trump revealed that he met with New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on July 20.…
In case you’ve been asleep this week, here’s a summary of the absurdity. On the Feb. 12 episode of Big Brother, Omarosa Newman, former White House staffer, pontificated about immigration and impeachment. While chatting, she felt it her obligation to warn America that the only thing worse than having Trump as president would be having Vice-President Pence in his place. Why? Because Pence is a committed Christian who believes his relationship with Christ includes regular…