Fred Owens' Facebook Page, "Fake News" And The Credibility Of The Mainstream Press

Alan: Trump admits he's a fantasist, playing (and preying) on people's credibility by using bravado to promote unreality.

(Alan: The following is my response to conversation on friend Fred Owens' Facebook page. At issue was "fake news" and the credibility of the mainstream press.)

To the extent that the New York Times is "one long editorial," it is an editorial on behalf of "fact-based news," not "fake news."

"Fact-based" news does not mean that Times' reporting is invariably factual. Jason Blair is a case in point. And although Judith Miller's role in the propagation of falsehood may or may not have been deliberate, I will single her out as another tentative example.

Errors are made. And, rarely, individual reporters "go bad."

But it is erroneous to think - as is commonplace among American conservatives - that "exceptions to rules" enable the "establishment of new rules," and that discovering an occasional mistake or even a lie enables the discoverer to make up his (or her) own "truth." Such epistemological bankruptcy is beyond deplorable.

"The Death Of Epistemolgy"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-polls-skewed-death-of-epistemology.html

"Republicans For Revolution" A Study In Anarchic Apocalypticism

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/10/republicans-for-revolution-study-in.html

"Fact-based" means that, far more often than not, reputable mainstream newspapers like "The New York Times" take pains to be factually accurate.
That Trumpistas ignore or deny the fact of routine intellectual rigor in the mainstream press is not only personally reprehensible but promotes a corrosive force in American society which -- all by itself and without any input from "evil" liberals - will prove, unchecked, to be the nation's undoing.
Unabashed falsification, coupled with the allegation that American media's most committed truth-tellers are a bottomless pit of "fake news," beggars hyperbole.
As Diane Sherman commented, "I haven't seen any evidence, (or) published news, that indicates fake news from NYT, CNN, LAT, etc. Is there any? I keep asking but no one who claims it can show proof."
I look forward to Danny Jensen's evidence.
In the meantime, here is "the rest of the story" - a story I have scarcely updated since Liar-In-Chief's inauguration. http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/02/compendium-of-pax-posts-concerning.html
And don't miss the following account in which a conservative radio talk show host describes - for the New York Times!?! - how American conservatives are "hoist with their own petard."
If you're politically conservative and, upon reading the following article, cannot entertain the possibility that its author is at least partially right, your ignorance is invincible and you should be concerned for your own sake, for your children's sake and for the sake of your country and the world...
Ironically, it will not be "god-damned liberals" who destroy the country but "good Christian" "patriots" unable to take George Washington's rudimentary advice: "I cannot tell a lie."
No, the "good Christian" "patriots" have too many cherry trees to chop to be bothered by trivialities like Truth.

Conservative Talk Show Host Tells "Why Nobody Cares The President Is Lying," The New York Times

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/02/conservative-talk-show-host-tells-why.html

Fred, concerning your assertion that small-town newspapers are often just as good as mainstream media giants, I would point out that only "the giants" have the resources to delve deep into those local issues which Big Money has covered up or obfuscated. We must also acknowledge the irreplaceable role that "the giants" play in "overseas" reporting.

If (as McLuhan argued when we were students at Univesity of Toronto) the world is "re-tribalizing" and thus resorting to "the grapevine" as its primary information source, American small town newspapers just don't have the resources to pull back the curtain on Oz.

Deep research is costly and small town papers lack the wherewithal.

The Borowitz Report: "Trump Blasts Media For Reporting Things He Says"
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-borowitz-report-trump-blasts-media.html

Here is my proposed solution/antidote.

I suggest that White House press conferences follow the lead of programs like Diane Rehm and Joshua Johnson's "1A," making it standard-operating procedure to accept randomly-chosen phone calls from small town newspapers and unaffiliated bloggers in order to give voice to "the little guy."

Accepting "live calls" is easily do-able: a functioning system could be in place within weeks.

But don't wait for the orange savior of "the little guy" to do it.

Like Mussolini before him, Trump's fundamentally fascist instincts are based on controlling the media, not opening it up, and certainly not opening it to anyone who has not been "extremely vetted."

Notably, Mussolini (who bears many resemblances to Trump, both physically and metaphysically) defined fascism as an all-encompassing political, social, cultural and economic system in which corporations play a leading role almost on par with the state. http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/mussolini.htm

Paul Krugman expands Colbert's observation:

"On The Liberal Bias Of Facts"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/02/on-liberal-bias-of-facts-paul-krugman.html