Appropriate Media headlines for June 15th?:
Bottom Line: Typically I point out headlines that are outrageous examples of what's wrong with media reporting to illustrate a point of how hysterical the rhetoric and politicking has become - by media outlets that were once tasked with responsible journalism. Today, in the wake of the brutal assault in Alexandria, I was hoping to find examples of more responsible reporting.
Here's a cross section of major media outlets:
- 'It's time to destroy Trump & Co.': Scalise shooter raged on Facebook - USA Today
- Trump Hating Shooter had history of Violence - Huffington Post
- Suspect Was Angry Over Trump’s Rise - New York Times
- Scalise shooter: Dead gunman ID'd as Trump-hating building inspector from Illinois - Fox News
- Gunman in GOP baseball practice attack dies after shootout -Washington Post
It's a small cross-section but here are a few observations...
- While generally being at least appropriate these headlines aren't exactly the type that instill a sense of unity or calm
- It's clear that the desire for clicks is trumping journalism (no pun intended)
- Four of those five examples mentioned "Trump" but not one of them referred to him as President
- My optimism that journalistic unity will prevail as this story continues to develop is low
It's the third point I want to pick up on...Remember when it would have been considered disrespectful to just refer to a President by the last name? Now, in many cases, "Trump" is different. Many of his friends and supporters call the President "Trump". He responds favorably to it. But there's still time and place right? In the time of a national tragedy, it struck me as odd and unfortunate that no headline that included the President's name refereed to him as the President. It concerns me that it's become so acceptable to not show respect for the office of the President, and our current President specifically, that even yesterday's attack doesn't elicit the appropriate headline.
Yesterday, in the "Hysterical Headlines" story I'd prepared for the show but didn't use due to the breaking news, was this headline: Is America Starting to Tire of Trump Assassination Porn? Jazz Shaw, Hot Air
Wow, right? The reason that stuck me yesterday was the actual admission by a leftist media outlet that what they've been doing, rather than accurate reporting, was "assassination porn". Rather alarming in the context of yesterday's events right?