For a very long time, I have found Jeff Jarvis to be one of the most astute observers and critics of the news media. He has proven it again with a new essay on his site, BuzzMachine.
In it, Jeff explains why he is beyond fed up with the way the media covers both presidential candidates as if they were two sides of the same coin, instead of recognizing the imminent danger Trump and his fellow fascists pose to all of us. You’d think that after nine years of this, they would have learned their lesson, but they keep normalizing him and translating his utterly insane word salads into cohesive sentences he has never uttered.
Jeff also wishes news outlets would recognize — and report on — the large number of Republicans who understand how dangerous a second Trump administration would be and have publicly announced their support for Harris. That includes Dick Cheney, who is probably surprised to find himself suddenly aligned with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortz! In fact, the only former GOP presidential or vice presidential candidate to come out for The Convicted Felon is Sarah Palin, which says everything you need to know.
Here’s an excerpt of what Jeff wrote…
Lord knows, I have disagreed with Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney. I will disagree with them still. But I welcome them into this grand coalition that is forming now. MSNBC has its sane and sometimes former Republicans — Nicole Wallace, Charlie Sykes, David Jolly, and, Joe Scarborough — and I welcome them and thank them for standing up for democracy and against fascism, a word they regularly use (though The Times, The Post, et al do not). We must welcome more to this righteous and urgent cause.
For God’s sake, political reporters, stop framing these two movements — one to tear down democracy, one to build it up — as equivalent sides across your imaginary continental divide. Stop your false balance. Stop washing the insanity of the fascist party’s leader — and the insanity of his followers for following him. Stop normalizing his and their patently abnormal and abhorrent behavior. Stop trying to predict (in this unprecedented moment, all your “models” and experience and presumptions are worthless). Stop hoping for bad news. Stop making the story about yourself -— yes, I am looking at you, A.G. Sulzberger -— and please try to understand the threats to democracy, liberty, and life from the perspectives of those who do not share the power and privilege of your platforms. Stop ignoring the rising chorus of critics who are trying to make you and your journalism better —- to save journalism from your lapses of judgment. Stop your amnesia about what Trump and company have already shown us to be. Stop making up new white-gloved euphemisms for racism, misogyny, lies, insurgency, corruption, hatred, and grift —- call these things what they are, otherwise you are not doing journalism, not informing and explaining reality to your publics.
Here, right in front of your eyes, is the story of the century and perhaps of the nation’s history. This is your last test. Fail at this, and there is no hope for you. Step up to the moment. Cover the story of your lifetimes.