FAKE NEWS
I stopped listening to NPR several years ago. I just couldn't tolerate the slant that made the news coverage misleading if not just outright false. Also, it was also very obvious as to its intention by the news that it didn't cover.
I was an ardent follower of NPR about 10 years ago. As the years went by, I continued to listen but increasingly held my nose to protect against the putrid odor of bias, snide slanted remarks, rank partisanship, and outright (what are you going to do about it,) “in my face” dishonesty. Ira Berliner, the senior Editor of the Business Desk at NPR describes what I have long observed about the declining influence of corporate media, including, but not limited to, the NYT, Wahington Post, CNN, MSNBC AND ESPN .Because most of those former pillars of journalistic integrity had PREVIOUSLY earned their reputations for decade upon decade due to fearless dedication to the truth, meticulous vetting of their sources, and following the story wherever it led, regardless of who or what was favored or discredited. Back in the day they were committed to shedding light on the darkest issues of the day and on the blackguards, regardless of political personality or philosophy. Their reason for being was to serve the public as witnesses to truth.
They have transformed themselves into a huge echo chamber to sound one coordinated note and broadcast it as if it is holy writ. Carefully constructed headlines align with editorial opinions masquerading as news to create a consensus on every and any subject whose outcome they have pre-ordained. Their hypnotized readers have been lulled to enlist in their endeavor to create an America of their choosing without an awareness that they have been gulled.
About three or four years ago I could no longer bear the deceit they were peddling, I left them, never looked back, and even felt liberated, Sadly, although diminishing in number, these transgressors remain as influencers for otherwise intelligent people who accept the drivel which they publish because of past reputations no longer earned or deserved. Former reliable sources and loyalties die hard. I hope this piece by Ira Berliner and the testimony of Bari Weiss (formerly stellar writer for the NYT) in her writings and public speaking appearances, will be a wakeup call, not just “voices crying in the wilderness.” Those who print and peddle lies and half- truths, are a massive force for wrong, they are tearing our country apart, they are doing it deliberately, and what makes their behavior particularly galling is that they cast themselves as elites while unabashedly performing their dirty deeds in plain sight.