If one fact has been proven during the 2016 election, it is that the media has failed the American people. It is no longer concerned with right or wrong; facts or blatant lies; morality or depravity. It is concerned about advertising revenue; profit before people.
In mid-2015 the media set a double standard for the campaign season. Regardless of the vile and reprehensible rhetoric Trump used at his rallies, the media had no comment. His opponents received little or no coverage, while Trump became an asset for all of the mainstream media’s advertising revenue.
Meanwhile, they offered support to Republicans who constantly suggested that Hillary Clinton intentionally violated the law with her use of a private e-mail server.
Ignoring the fact that the media was giving him free campaign advertising worth millions of dollars, Trump continually denounced the media, claiming that they were misquoting him and supporting Hillary.
The truth is that whenever any member of the Trump campaign team appeared on a television ‘news’ show, they avoided answering direct questions, and constantly offered campaign slogans. They lied as the “news persons” failed to ask them difficult questions and demand answers.
When Hillary’s supporters appeared on the same fake-news shows, they gave complete and honest responses. The double standard continued throughout the election season.
Continuing to ignore the truth, Trump berated the media. Maybe part of the reason was because more than 50 reputable newspapers across the nation, some considered conservative, supported Hillary and offered unfriendly descriptions about Trump. Trump received one; from a newspaper owned by right wing billionaire supporter Sheldon Adelson.
Either Trump does not have the intellect to understand the facts, or he was using a clever gambit. Either way, he was given a free pass by the media. They never offered a single positive reference regarding Hillary and her admirable accomplishments. They never offered information regarding her platform which would have positively affected the vast majority.
Now that the election is over, the media is capitulating to Trump’s despicable choices for his cabinet and closest advisers. They will never tell the truth and label Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions white supremacists. They will refuse to call Rudy Giuliani a racist, and a tool of terrorist organizations. There will be no truth told about Kellyanne Conway; that she is nothing more than a spin doctor; in other words; a good liar. The media is ignoring the fact that two of Trump’s nominees are billionaires who have no government experience, but supported Trump during his campaign.
The media is not your friend; they have joined with the Republican Party and worship a single god; money. I no longer watch television news at any level. Before the election, I began my day around five o’clock in the morning with local news. At seven o’clock, Pacific Time, I watched “CBS This Morning,” with Charlie Rose, Nora O’Donnell, and Gayle King. When they constantly supported Trump’s campaign staff by allowing them to talk without interruption, or answering the questions asked, I ceased watching the show, and have never watched it again; and never will.
I grew up listening to real newsmen such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Huntley and Brinkley, and others who offered the facts without opinion. News shows today are nothing more than entertainment. Facts which are reported only offer half of the truth; they are biased.
All networks have followed the lead of FOX Noise, and ratings are their only concern; the truth be damned.
I now follow millennials and receive my information from many sources on the internet. I read what I choose, and ignore what I want.
The media must share in our national disaster which is a Trump presidency. We have a man who will be living in the White House who is a white supremacist, a sexual predator; a man who is xenophobic, and someone who is filled with hate. His running mate is anti-gay, and a religious extremist.
It is easy to understand why news programs are losing ratings; millennials are now the largest voting demographic in our nation, and they do not approve.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
Follow me on twitter; @jamesturnagenov
The Truth With No Restrictions 