Overly Energetic Media Critique Serves No Purpose
Being first on the scene was the template for great television news back in the era of “live.” Cable news killed the importance of “on the scene.” With dozens of cameras and helicopters broadcasting views of an ambulance chaser events took the edge off real journalism. Not much excitement, until recently, could be had at the city council or any local event.
A nation gripped by instant gratification wants it “now” and it wants stimulation. When media finally gives up the “old fashioned” method of listener/viewer rating effectiveness, we will learn the real truth about broadcasting-
“it sucks.”
The internet did not kill broadcasting. Broadcasting killed broadcasting. The lack of real news, or the effort to turn non-news into prime time created an environment from which broadcasting could not escape. The 24/7 stream of news into the viewers homes means broadcasters must keep the edge, the rush, going. No longer do we see seasoned journalists reporting stories with depth, thought and clarity. Instead, our big screens are filled with tarts, trollops, trolls, and titillators. (How is that for a stream of senseless alliteration?)
Yesterday’s coverage of “the birth certificate” brought out the worst of today’s media. My favorite was CNBC’s, John Harwood. His description of people who follow the birth certificate was as moronic as the terms he used to describe the so-called “birthers.” Mr. Harwood somewhere in his past must have had purpose, but being relegated to cameo appearances on Pennsylvania Avenue must have left him with little to do but mimic a hand puppet for the administration.
Why stop with one when there were so many? The so called conservative juggernaut of FoxNews’s 5 o’clock panel tripped all over themselves to be most effusive. The release of the internet version of a long form certificate offered them an opportunity to exhibit their complete incompetence as individuals with depth.
The true movement behind the “birth certificate” lies not in the struggle to find a real long form certificate of birth, but in the eligibility of a person born with dual citizenship. The certificate, along with numerous gaps in the history of the person living on Pennsylvania Avenue does not give comfort to those who believe his residency at said location lacks validity. The more efforts to conceal information and the lack of an actual birth certificate fueled the interest of those in the “birther” movement.
Donald Trump offered the administration an opportunity to shift the argument from “natural born” to certification. In my opinion, Trump’s efforts were less about the truth and more about qualifying him for office. If the Hawaiian born, Kenyan/Indonesian citizen could legally be president, then Donald Trump with is Scottish mother had no obstacles standing in his way to the Oval Office.
Was Barack Hussein Obama born in Hawaii?
I really do not know.
What I do know- the certificate released yesterday has more holes in it than Bonnie & Clyde’s getaway car in Prim, NV.
What I do know- the real issue lies in “natural born,” as intended by the Founders. One can debate that and decide on either side of the meaning of their words. That conversation has not been had. The Supreme Court, which sits as the third leg in checked and balanced government, refuses to address the issue of “Natural Born.” One can debate why our court refuses to give us an opinion.
What I do know- the media which covered the birth certificate release has done no credible work on the forensics of the new document nor the old one.
What I do know- when a government refuses to address the grievances of a nation, there’s as the phrase goes, “is hell to pay.”
What I do know- Abraham Lincoln’s “all of the people all of the time,” phrase applies to the subterfuge involving the background of the Pennsylvania Avenue resident will eventually produce a backlash nastier than the media’s terms for “birthers.”
As a nation, we should be mourning the death of truth. A nation with a media as corrupt as its leadership will not stand long in the face of an ill wind.
