The Inbox....
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We also said that maybe it is time to make Journalism great again.
We got a number of emails on that story and we wanted to share a few of them here.
Email #1:
Well written. Right on the money. You said what had to be said, I only hope people in the business listen.
Email #2:
I’m a reporter in Florida and saw your article about media treatment under trump.
Trump certainly had horrible rhetoric and placed a lot of negative pressure on journalists.
However, I think it’s important to note that previous administrations have really been no better. They were just less boisterous.
The better question, in my opinion,- how does Biden differentiate himself from Trump AND Obama moving forward when it comes to media treatment?
It would be quite reassuring if he sets a better tone, but more importantly, takes less divisive action than both of his predecessors.
But- I do think the pressure on journalists has had its upsides. I’ve never seen more bias in reporting by both left and right leaning journalists. The media and the presidential administrations can both do better. I think the pressure did make some journalists think twice about their reporting, where they may not have been as cautious before.
But I don’t think it’s fair to say Trump has been the hardest on the media in every case.
FTVLive responds: Trump is the only President that called the media the enemy, encouraged violence against the media and mocked a disabled Reporter.
Email #3
Scott...
I agree 100% with you after this bruising election, but I will say that TRUE journalism doesn't need to be great again. If you practice journalism and news reporting the way that Murrow, Cronkite, Jennings, Mudd, Chancellor, Huntley, Brinkley, Swazey, Edwards, Trout, Reasoner, Wallace, and others from that era all practiced it, journalism doesn't have to be great again.
It always WAS great. We are not teaching our young journalists correctly.
As a retired 50-year+ TV African-American anchorperson, I'm like everybody else living in the society that President Donald Trump has left us with. Having said that, yesterday on the very day that Biden-Harris won the election as I was visiting friends out of town, I got yelled at by a Trump supporter in a passing pickup truck while I was pumping gas heading home and he called me the N-word... his exact words were "Trump 2020, N------!" It was a very brief encounter, but unmistakable. It was unprovoked and I ignored him, but others nearby heard him. They looked at me, I guess, expecting me to yell back.
Even though I'm old school, I was embarrassed. I ignored the yell, but it took great restraint.
I know Biden and Harris are going to try to bridge the relations between Black and White, Democrats and Republicans and I truly hope they can do that, but if a Trump supporter yells at me like that again, I'm going to bridge the distance between his chin and his knees.
Please pray for America.
Email #4
It's not just CNN and Fox. If you pay close attention to the network stories that are assigned and covered you'll find a clear bias. This has been going on for over ten years. In the last five years the tone and content of intros and standups has also changed. Beyond the "performance" is the subtle addition of opinion. You can find this daily if you look for it.
