Ah, mirrors. Can’t do with ‘em; can’t do without ‘em. Sometimes they’re pretty darn handy to take a close look at that bump on our chin, roots growing in or a tooth that’s been bugging you. But mirrors also show a little more than we’d like as well, since
since they don’t lie (unfortunately). We can’t say that for a lot of other things today, right?
Media is a little like a mirror, at least when it’s done right. Mirrors are designed to be true, not magic. Sometimes they show more than we want to see but, then it’s not a mirror’s job to blindly assure anyone they are “the fairest one of all”. A mirror’s job is to reflect what’s real, not a prettied up version. They reflect who we are, in all our human frailities.
I hardly love mirrors yet, my vanity (sounds cringe worthy) table sits in front of my bedroom window lest I get any ‘whoa, THAT’S a surprise’ when I leave the house. I guess I just like to know what I’m ‘facing’, no pun intended, which is pretty much the same reason I watch news, read blog posts or watch trusted news stations. Ya
just gotta know what’s going on.
We have to uphold a free press and freedom of speech because, in the end, lies and misinformation are no match for the truth. Barack Obama
Like a mirror, the news is only your enemy if what you see or hear isn’t true, not if it just isn’t what you want it to be. Even when they don’t agree with what we believe or want, facts aren’t any less true — unless they aren’t facts. My mother used to say, ‘the truth hurts’ and sometimes it does. I tell my peeps to always tell me the truth, even if I don’t
like it. I mean, who else will tell you if you have a poppy seed in my teeth or new ‘do’ does absolutely nothing for yo
Yes, the truth can hurt — but it can also heal. It can make us think, incite us to act, and at the very least, trip some changes in the way we view things. My husband began his professional life as a reporter and had a lifelong ‘thing’ about real news vs ‘news-ertainment’, something Fox mainlines in. Watching a nightly newscast, he’d riff constantly on the need for true reporting. He had great respect for newspapers,
especially all those with Pulitzer packed histories and for reporters who did due diligence and reported with integrity.
As Lt. Friday in the old TV show Dragnet once said, “The facts, ma’am, just the facts”. Somehow I don’t think ‘alternative’ was included in that directive.
‘Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.” Thomas Jefferson
Before our Declaration of Independence was signed, the British tried to muzzle any information they did not approve of — and we all know how that ended. The First Amendment was enacted to protect speech in all forms, even when there are times today we have to wonder what they were thinking, when even the basest, hatefilled vitriol is protected. Yet, we wouldn’t give up our freedoms for anything; we fought wars to secure them.
We deserve to know what’s happening in our government, in the world, on the battlefronts. It is our right as citizens. Without a free press, we would have no connection or protection. People need to be well informed, not with propaganda, conspiracy theories or state run media but real news. Watergate would never have been exposed but for two young journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who took their jobs seriously. We should have realized then how crucial media was at keeping government in check, as well as distilling and delivering news to a country’s citizens. The Washington Post of those days became more than a news outlet; it was an American watchdog, the type we need today more than ever.
While it’s never fun to see funky warts show up in the mirror media reflects back to us, without it’s critical reflection, we have no way to hold government or people accountable for its missteps. Now more than ever, missteps are in abundance.
“When the speech condemns a free press, you are hearing the words of a tyrant” Thomas Jefferson
Media, at times, can get it wrong, seriously wrong. But they, like the people they serve are not perfect. They also, like many of us, can get lost in economics, and politics rather than idealism which is a shame. Still, I like to think, that for the most part, they strive for critical facts and not the magic mirror. They might be discredited, censored or even silenced but truth still ‘persists’.
Entertainment can get away with smoke and mirrors; ratings are their Pulitzer. But it’s those in actual trenches, getting facts, doing research, that we need to listen to. The ones embedded in war zones, knocked down in riots, smack in the thick of things with no regard for self — just story. That takes guts, not always glory – or ratings. They are the backbone of real news, the media we’ve trusted for decades, not ratings seasons. They are the ones whose reports go down in history and you can find the brave ones in every era.
“A nation that’s afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” John F. Kennedy
Though I still love the feel of a newspaper (better to tear out ‘helpful” articles to annoy my children with), real news can be found in many places today if you choose to look There is a plethora (love that word) of ‘real’, not fake news sources and don’t
need a Geiger counter to tease out the real thing. Some have been through our country’s thick and thin. You know who they are; choose well. Fact check your social media, read trusted bloggers, listen to public radio or balanced, informed not glamorous tv news, especially those that turn with hate and degradation.
It’s rarely true that no news – is good news. Just make sure that when you need to know, your media of choice is a true mirror of our world, not the Wicked
Witch variety.
“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them” Ida B. Wells
Tell me what you think in the comments — and don’t forget to subscribe to receive my stories via email!
We all have stories and mine are neither unusual nor technicolor blockbusters. All I can hope is whatever I share sparks a continuing conversation, one that invites ideas, opinions and discussion.
The Other Shoe 