What Is Wrong With Journalists?

Barbra Oakley has a very interesting article in Psychology Today explaining what is wrong with journalists. The whole article is a must read, but I especially liked the closing.

As far as investigating the dark side of the Major Issues, there’s a critically important concept that students of journalism are rarely taught. It’s easy to find any number of targets to write about in capitalist societies with an open press. But totalitarian governments are journalistic black holes. Journalists can tickle their self-righteous neurocircuitry every day (and many do), by exposing easy-to-find faults in democratic societies. But beyond their event horizon is the bigger story that often remains untold as it occurs–the horrific deaths of millions in totalitarian regimes like the former Soviet Union, Communist China, North Korea and, yes, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. That’s why, when Robert Conquest was asked whether he wanted to retitle his updated The Great Terror, about the Soviet purges, his answer was: Yes, how about
I Told You So, You Fucking Fools?
If you’re a journalist, want to help people and want to tell the truth, what truth are you going to tell? Why, the truth you think helps people, of course!
Technically, that’s the truth.
But it’s very different than the truth.

It would be real nice if journalists recognized the one true fact about politicians taught to me by my grandfather (on my mother’s side). “They are all crooks.” Which means none should get special treatment from the press. In fact if I was a political strategic thinker I’d make sure the crooks in my party got the harshest treatment possible. Pour l’encourager les autres. Then my party gets known as more honest and that might help swing a few elections when the voters decide “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more.” What are the odds? Slim and none.
H/T R. Dave at Talk polywell
Cross Posted at Power and Control