Is Broadcast and Cable Journalism Helping Trump Bury the News?

Even if Barr didn39t get raves as a comic what the nation39s Chief Law Enforcement Officer said about Mueller39s report was noteworthy as a master class in the art of misleadingamp160 The question is now that the report is in hand can President Trump keep it up to divert attention from what39s insideamp160 When it comes to broadcast and cable news the place most Americans go for facts and commentary the history of Donald Trump39s presidency provides the answeramp160 You bet he canTo give broadcast journalism its due its performance in covering Barr39s remarks and the Mueller report39s release was superbamp160 Barr39s kickoff was intended to drive home a judgment about the findings before they were even in sightamp160 By explicating the differences between the text and his warped interpretation the networks39 journalists did a firstrate job in exposing the ploy while making the law and its distinctions understandableamp160 It was onair news at its bestWhether that quality will continue is the issueamp160 Barr39s task of course was to officially obfuscateamp160 His script could only have been written in the Oval Office its timing coordination and peculiar legal judgments are evidence enough to make that case amp160But even with Barr in their pocket White House propagandists can only do so muchamp160 As a drug abuse counselor might put it peddling prevarication calls for an enableramp160 Unfortunately notwithstanding their excellent work last week that39s where the broadcast and cable news outlets come inWitness what is now dominating their showsamp160 Like beagles that bolt off the porch at the sight of a bushy tail news producers reporters and anchors are panting after anything with Mueller39s name in the leadamp160 His 400page report is an unprecedented storyamp160 Serious digging into its contents will and should continueamp160 But if the last two years are any guide print journalists primarily will do the jobamp160 As for broadcast and cable expect theiramp160socalled analysis to fill the airtime whether anything warrants commentary or even their viewers39 attention at allTo be fair let39s stipulate that the surplus of opinionating isn39t the reporters39 fault or a demerit for poor journalistic standardsamp160 The world of broadcast and cable news is what it is a business to generate ratings and therefore revenue by filling a 247 news hole with content that draws viewers and keeps them tuned inamp160 The symbiosis is obviousamp160 For Trump bizarre tweets and bogus claims make news diverting attention from his documented corruption lying and dysfunctionamp160 For broadcast and cable outlets as partisan commentators debate reporters in their ubiquitous Jerry Springer routines the spectacle draws audiencesamp160 What39s not to likeFor the country however the answer is or should be quota lotquotamp160 As breaking news about the Mueller report inevitably diminishes and the political legal and almost certainly constitutional struggle over the presidency39s integrity grinds on the obsessive focus on opinion over fact will have a price little if any coverage of an administration failing at home and abroadamp160 Take reporting on Trump39s recordamp160 On air it39s scanty to nonexistent even in the 10 pm Sunday time slot the TV version of the newspapers39 quotbelow the foldquotWhat are the majority of Americans missing from their preferred news sourceamp160 How about the story of a twoyearold administration overseeing two million employees and a 47 trillion budget including management of several wars that hasn39t even bothered to staff upamp160 With barely half his nominees confirmed by a Republicancontrolled Senate Trump ranks dead last among his predecessors in filling key jobsamp160 At the Justice Interior and Labor Departments for example only 40 percent of policymaking positions are filledamp160 Trump has no nominees for 150 20 percent of the Executive Branch39s 705 Senateconfirmed rolesThe implications of the vacancies in national security raise unsettling questions about who39s in chargeamp160 At the Defense Department nearly a quarter of the policymaking positions are vacant including the defense secretary and deputyamp160 A halfdozen other highlevel policymaking posts are filled with quotactingquot officialsamp160 The empty desks don39t stop at the Pentagonamp160 Half of the State Department39s top jobs have quothelp wantedquot signsamp160 And among important US embassies Saudi Arabia Turkey Pakistan Mexico Egypt and Jordan lack ambassadors all crucial countries in regions where Trump claims his priorities top the agendaWith the White House running a 66 percent turnover rate for senior staff the Executive Branch vacancies and placeholders may well simply be par for Trump39s courseamp160 Nonetheless their implications go without saying not only for the quality of decisionmaking and competency of the incumbents but also for the nation39s securityamp160 For broadcast journalists covering a presidency in deepening trouble Trump39s failure to install the talent needed to manage national affairs shouldn39t be a story that only their print colleagues are able to doYes leading the news 247 with the latest presidential profanity or petulant tweet makes for fodder to fuel endless speculation among the empaneled experts about their politics or what Trump39s bizarre behavior portendsamp160 But the crater that has replaced what once was the center of serious efforts to make policy and manage a coherent engagement with the world is filled to the brim with stories about White House incompetenceamp160 It used to be newsamp160 It can be againClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Is Broadcast and Cable Journalism Helping Trump Bury the News?

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Kent M. Harrington

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Is Broadcast and Cable Journalism Helping Trump Bury the News?

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