The president of the United States
has taken the additional step of calling journalists “sick people” who “don’t
like our country.” He has continued to use the term “fake news” to describe the
reporting being done about him. He is encouraging supporters to turn their
backs on American journalism as we know it.
This is important to note, and
important to refute, no matter what one’s political views might be.
The role that journalism has played
in American history is profound and in many ways as important as the role of
government itself. Strong investigative reporting has repeatedly led the government
to make critical changes that benefit the American public – at the federal,
state and local levels. We would be nowhere near the country we are today without
the work of our most skilled reporters.
There are several biased news media
outlets in existence today, especially on TV and on the internet. There also
are several examples of fictional news, particularly from the entrepreneurs who
are crafting false stories online in order to gain income from the ads sold on
their much-read and much-shared websites. These businessmen know that their
false, highly partisan stories will be retweeted and shared without many folks
checking the facts. This is the true “fake news,” and it’s being created by
people with no journalism background.
