Dear mainstream media,
I understand why you report as you do in both the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and the larger war on terror. You believe journalism requires a sort of elegant moral relativism, that telling "both sides of the story" is a necessary prerequisite to "objective" journalism. You don't believe that there can be an objective right or wrong; if you were reporting World War II today, you'd feel obligated to speak to front-line Japanese and Nazi soldiers and discuss the Allies' disproportionate response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Poland.
Since you don't believe in right and wrong, you also don't believe in a bright-line distinction between truth and falsehood. Terrorists are just as believable as American and Israeli officials. Everyone has an equally valid perspective on the truth. Of course, it doesn't hurt that terrorists are more than willing to fabricate juicy stories you can print on page one. "Terrorist Kills Civilians" simply doesn't have the same shock value as "American Soldiers Murder Family," even if the second headline is a complete and utter canard. It's easier to win a Pulitzer when you use the fertile imagination of terrorists as reliable sources.
Nonetheless, I feel compelled to offer some advice.
Read the whole thing...
No comments:
Post a Comment