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| Journalist Briana Whitney, who was tackled live on the air during a report in Phoenix, AZ |
There are few phrases in the English dictionary that I hate as much as “fake news.” With those two words, an entire profession has become discredited by the masses, leaving concern over one simple truth: whom can you trust? Following the rise of the phrase in 2015, polls revealed a growth in readers not trusting reputable news sources, who dedicate their ethical core to presenting America in its most honest form. Even if their aim is still true, it becomes disheartening to know that a story that had blood, sweat, and tears poured into it that has the least bit of opposition can now be discredited with “fake news.”
I will accept some truths in the idea that unflattering news hurts. Nobody wants to look like a monster. However, the modern trend of having a president interrupt reporters during a briefing and saying “you’re fake news” while willing to answer softball questions shows that this isn’t just some fringe opinion. It’s held by people in the highest positions of the land, who wish to destroy law and order and reshape it in their image. It’s ironic because even if they believe it’s true, what they’re really creating is “fake news”: something soulless, manipulative, and doing little of value. Living in this vapid delusion is somehow okay, but engaging in a debate to better the country isn’t.
While the Justice for George Floyd protests are enlightening the struggles of black America, I found myself as saddened by what I saw in a community that I once belonged to. Between 2009 and 2015, I was working my way towards a journalism major and spent many extracurricular hours in a newsroom, becoming friends with these people who put in so much effort to get that one interview to perfect a big piece. I saw firsthand what it was like to chase stories, work on presentation and drafts, eager to present current events in their truest form. Our teachers weren’t out with some agenda. There wasn’t any “fake news.” It was a real effort to document history.
The older I get, the more that I personally believe that every student would do well to take a journalism course, or at least a survey one that explores the value of reporting throughout this country’s history. As the only middle schooler who had an opinion on Jayson Blair, I had this passion for picking up newspapers and seeing what was going on in the world. To quote The Post (2017): “We are the first draft of history.” What journalists do is document moments that matter, bringing to life stories that would otherwise be ignored. Time and again I’ve seen them out there getting the important interview, illuminating matters that could easily be taken for granted. This wasn’t “fake news,” but history as it was. We can’t just write off the unpleasantness, but engage with it and ask why it’s unpleasant. If every student knew how to properly use the 5 W’s & H, the world might be a better place. You don’t have to share a world view, just an understanding of the value of ethics.
I bring this up because I’ve spent almost every day since Thursday watching some aspect of the news, following the protests as they happened live. It has been a surreal collage of moments, all reflecting different inhumanities in the world. Whereas a protest to stop quarantine that involved people with guns spitting at cops on city hall didn’t have the streets barricaded off, this time was different. Fireworks were flying in the air, every window now laid in pieces. Six women going out for dinner were tased because they were stuck in traffic after curfew. Most people were being maced and beaten, permanently blinding reporter Linda Tirado in her left eye.
This is a war zone, and one that I don’t know would be nearly as effective without a certain belief in journalism. Sure it’s the protestors whose stories matter more, but having reporters there to capture it cements its place in history, serving as a reminder, even if it’s to a local audience, that this moment happened this way. There’s no way around it. This isn’t to say that all presentations are equal, but when you want a clear vision of what’s going on, it’s better than nothing.
I think the night that it became clearest was on Saturday evening. What started as a singular case in Minneapolis, MN was now going national. One of those places ended up being one of the most diversely populated cities on the western seaboard: Los Angeles, CA. Speaking as I live roughly an hour outside the city, I felt concerned that it would move closer to me (it did). Watching reporters recap the madness as police officers lined the streets, preparing for a new life of curfews, was to witness a truth that I needed to see.
There wasn’t a criminalization of the looters, but I admired the journalists on ABC 7 and KCAL 9 who understood the responsibility of word choice, that calling an entire collective of people “thugs” or “looters” was going to bring upon more harm. They acknowledged that what we’re seeing was a mixed picture, where the peaceful protestors were being interrupted by selfish opportunists wanting to run amok. That isn’t to discredit the police brutality towards people, but they made it clear to such a level that those without racial bias could follow the story as a more complicated matter.
I think that the moment that hit hardest on Saturday was hearing ABC 7 talk about her experience in the protests. She claimed that they threw tear gas at her, which (if not horrifying enough) wasn’t the first time it’s been done to her. She followed it up with a detailed description that put into context how horrifying it is to have that thrown in your face, as everything pours out of you. When I flipped over to KCAL 9, they talked about being hit with an M-80. Suddenly it became clear how horrifying it was not only for protestors but for those just doing their job of capturing the moment. Others would be hit with rubber bullets, and who knows what else.
This is the end result of “fake news.” It’s a moment where a journalist can hold up their hands to police and say “I’m media” before being thrown to the ground. You can have your badge out, ready to prove your credentials, and there was a serious chance that you’d be trampled, bludgeoned, and even blinded. Because we live in a time where journalists aren’t as respected as they should be, the police denigrate them to an evil bystander, worthy of being arrested and treated just as poorly as everyone else there. Nobody deserved that treatment, and my heart goes out to those currently recovering.
It shouldn’t have to be like this. Journalists in America shouldn’t have to be injured reporting on their own soil. Considering that this past weekend featured over 100 cases according to the Nieman Foundation of journalists being assaulted, it’s a sad state of affairs. The voice of the people is being oppressed because the president doesn’t like it. What he’s hoping is that they will submit, give into his delusional world view and accept that he’s right. He’s not. Bones may be broken but spirits aren’t. That’s what I admire about journalists and something that I wish that I had more of in me: a desire to chase the story until it’s concluded, finding justice and answers in a very tough situation.
Because without journalists, I guarantee that the picture would be very different. Their whole profession is about sifting through the fog to find a deeper truth, and in cases like this, that involves selfless acts of standing in harm’s way. This isn’t to cause a scene, but instead project events as they are, where they take a moment to talk to a random protestor and get these vivid messages about their personal frustrations. What you often find in these moments is a raw honesty that is incredible, ranging from expletives of people too angry to filter their word choice to more dignified opinions. In these cases, reporters are the moderators, giving them a chance to speak instead of fading into a crowd, being mistaken for the next target.
It is completely likely that other moments would be misconstrued entirely. It isn’t just capturing videos and eyewitnesses talking about the brutality across America. It’s about the time the president chose to take a really stupid picture in front of a church (itself advertising virtual availability) with an upside-down bible, the tassel falling in self-defeat. It’s one of the most cynical pictures he’s ever taken, if just because it lacks a clearer reason than false-altruism. You know that if anyone questions it, he will have his reasons going strong…
But you know what’s the one thing he can’t ignore, but will anyways? The decision to take that picture after macing the crowd of protestors who were THIS CLOSE to ransacking The White House after they became so intimidated and turned the lights off. If there wasn’t any documentation, this would be a myth that you either believed or didn’t. Because there were reporters and video being shot, there is permanent damnation that a president has so little regard for the world that he’ll assault you for a pointless photo op.
I say all this because we need to have professional voices willing to look beyond some perverse bias and accept history for what it is. There is a need to give an unbiased view of America that isn’t deemed “fake news” because it is unpleasant. These documents exist as part of our tapestry, and there is no way to argue against it. They can try, but it’s becoming clearer that any push against the truth is getting harder to lie your way out of. Journalism is an essential tool in this country, and I thank them with open hearts for sacrificing their lives to make the world more aware of the injustice, giving us insight that could be misconstrued otherwise.
There is the truth in suggesting that protestor’s self-shot videos are just as important in this debate. In fact, I think all of their voices add something, where every person who takes to Twitter to complain about their assault brings a clearer picture of how widespread this problem is. It will take a long time before a lot of sense is made of this, but there is no denying that because reporters were out there, this cause has a legitimacy. There are now archives of the violence, of the moments when curfews were put in place, or that Los Angeles got so bad that Eric Garcetti called for The National Guard. Having these mentioned isn’t some biased thing. It’s what really happened.
I would even go so far as to say that journalists have reflected the good in society as well. When discussing George Floyd’s brother Terrence, we are presented with one of the most heartbreaking stories of everything. He lost his brother in all of this, and we can only assume the pain inside of him. Still, to see the video where he visits the site of his death is one of the most heartbreaking moments. It’s one of the most human in all of this as he falls to his knees, needing support to keep from collapsing. There is a reflection of sorrow in this story, and one that shows that there is division right now even within the black community. While looters seek to change the narrative, Terrence wants to find more creative and effective ways to bring about police reform. To hear him lead others in a chant is important right now, finding optimism in a community that needs all the love it can get right now.
I know that one post can’t fully pay respect to the journalists who are out there making sense of this madness, but I want to say thank you. Thank you for facing adversity to report the truth, sacrificing your safety so that history can be documented and that realities can be properly captured.
If you take away one thing from this post, it’s my firm belief that journalism is important and the “fake news” movement is an insult to our basic structure. Without it, everything falls apart, not allowing for anything to be discussed, no open dialogue to be formed, and leaves everyone scared of each other. It’s when the reporter decides to give a protestor a microphone that things begin to make more sense. Change can only be made when a dialogue is started, allowing both sides to speak with equal appreciation.
I want this country to work towards compromises, accepting that nobody is greater than another. That all people are in fact created equal. When one voice is disavowed for speaking truth, then that remains untrue. Journalism is a key factor in the change, whether in capturing the moment or producing thoughtful op-eds that illuminate our frustrations. What I’m seeing ranges from horrifying to encouraging, and all in a quest for change. If we can think of listening and not just say that the opposite opinion is wrong, then maybe things could hope to get better.
So please, follow and support these journalists, whose voices are invaluable in times like these. They have made my perspective of this past week more informed, making sense of things that otherwise would’ve gone unnoticed or demonized by fear mongers. I want to say thank you, and please stay safe. Your stories are helping to make a difference in how these events are seen nationally, and hopefully, that’s what it takes to get to the next stage of the conversation.
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