Calling us 'the media' doesn't tell the story
Just so you know up front, this is not a rant.
It’s meant with all due respect to anyone involved, because I’m not trying to express anger. No, I just want people to have a better understanding of, well ...
My job.
And not just mine, but work done by thousands of other legitimate members of the media.
Here’s the thing: We are NOT one single entity.
“The media” is not some unified beast, making controversial or critical statements at its whim.
So it’s never correct to make a statement like this: “The media is against me.”
Maybe there are individual members of the media with whom this fictitious person has a quarrel, but likewise, plenty of media people don’t even know that particular issue — or have expressed completely different views about it.
IF A state legislator in Delaware says, “The lying media cost me the election,” I can pretty much guarantee that no one at the Coeur d’Alene Press had a thing to do with it.
Without the help of Google, I couldn’t name a single Delaware state representative if the grand prize of a Jeopardy show depended on it.
I do know that Joe Biden lives in Delaware — but no, not because I’m part of a “liberal media.” I know that one fact because of widespread publicity about Biden taking an Amtrak train to work when he was a U.S. senator.
Let’s bring this discussion closer to home.
Just one day ago, I wrote an opinion piece suggesting that Idaho’s main gubernatorial candidates should disavow President Trump’s speeches on the tragic events in Charlottesville.
Likewise, I said our candidates and state officials should publicly distance themselves from Trump’s endorsement of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who heartily approved racial profiling and is currently under indictment.
Those were and are my opinions, and anyone is free to agree or disagree.
Please note, though, that I never said a word about Idaho candidates criticizing anything else whatsoever about the president.
What’s wrong, however, is for Trump — who doesn’t know me from a load of hay — to stand on a stage and rip “the lying media,” or to say that the media (all of it, presumably) does not love this country.
I have not lied and I love America.
THE POINT is that I’m a member of the media, and so are broadcasters in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and TV anchors in Montpelier, Vermont.
We cannot and should not be lumped together.
Trump’s main beef seems to be with the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN.
If that’s the case, he should say so instead of throwing every media person in the country under the same bus.
He doesn’t do it, of course, because uttering a phrase like “the lying New York Times” would force you to prove that accusation in court.
I am not just picking on Trump, by the way.
Politicians of both parties, public officials, even entertainers and artists sometimes respond to criticism by blaming “the media.”
Why?
Because it’s convenient.
You don’t have to defend your actions or your work if you deflect any negative comment by blaming that mysterious force, “the media.”
As a lifelong member of that media, I ask only that you speak to us (or refer to us) as individuals.
Criticism of my work by name is fair as free speech.
Criticism of my work by calling out “the media” is unfair and even ridiculous.
What I hope by writing this is that you might think twice before lumping the many thousands of us together.
We are all quite different, I assure you.
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Steve Cameron is a special assignment reporter for The Press. Reach Steve at: [email protected].