The Search for Honesty
Many years ago, I worked for two different newspapers and reported stories of community interest. I specialized in stories about education, however there were other stories I was assigned.
One day, I was called into the editor’s office and told a story I had written didn’t coincide with the agenda of the newspaper. I was asked to dig up dirt on a story about a contestant for the Miss Tampa Beauty Pageant. I interviewed the young lady who had moved from another Florida county to compete. The editor thought there was some nefarious reason for this move. The contestant was very nice and there was no dirt here. Yet the editor insisted I find something negative to write about in my story. She scoffed at my claim that in college I was taught journalism should be about who, what, where, when, why, and how. She told me that was the old way. There was a new way of covering stories. I ended up quitting that job because if my stories needed a dishonest spin to conform to some ridiculous ideology it wasn’t journalism; it was propaganda.
Social media has unleashed a storm of disingenuous reporting and its willing accomplices are media which spins right or left, with complicit politicians, celebrities and others who condemn or celebrate stories because it furthers their political causes. The media wants people to take sides because it increases their ratings and the quest for likes is far greater than the quest for truth.
With each story, the general public falls prey to agenda-driven stories. They either refuse to fact check or spread the word because it supports their belief systems.
In recent news, one side said a 5-year-old was arrested by ICE agents and the other side stated ICE cared for a child who was abandoned by his father. Politicians couldn’t wait to jump on this story to vilify or defend ICE. A few weeks ago, one side claimed a woman who was shot by ICE was trying to run down an ICE agent while the other side claimed she was just trying to leave the scene.
The spinning of stories and word choices fuels dissension and it is this dissension which leads to violence and anarchy. Those who spread it sit back in their chairs and watch it unravel and gleefully think to themselves, “People will eat this up.” They prostitute their journalistic integrity for social media clicks to appease their base.
It’s true there are two sides to every story. However, when the reporting is so egregiously biased it is more like fiction than fact. In his dystopian novel, 1984, George Orwell characterized this type of reporting as a chilling aspect of things to come. 1984’s version of the media in the fictitious Oceania, is beginning to be more of a prophecy than a literary story. Orwell wrote, “We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.”
Each story has different antagonists and protagonists, but the common denominator remains the same: biased reporting manipulates the truth.
In my own dystopian novel, It Began With A Whisper, I have attempted to build on the brilliance of Orwell’s 1984. I created a world where the media is a tool of the government and spreads whatever will allow the regime to flourish. Truth is a casualty of the culture war in this fictitious nation of Thawtless.
The view of many media outlets and their owners is as follows: facts and truth are boring. Truthfulness doesn’t build followers; it alienates them if we fail to give our audience their desires. The average person never delves deeper than the headlines which they will either cheer or boo depending upon their politics.
History is filled with bias. The Spanish-American war was fueled by yellow journalism and the purpose of these journalists was not honesty; it was incitement. In America, the media was once considered to be the fourth estate, which was an additional check and balance system on government officials to avoid tyranny and anarchy. However, a dishonest media combined with those who use fake news as a stimulant is a prescription for extremism.
There are always two sides to stories and reasons for why people commit crimes or perform actions which are newsworthy. Yet different sides should not obscure facts. It is up to those reporting these stories to disseminate the facts in an objective manner. This is the difference between journalism and editorializing. Editorialists are clear in their opinionated positions and there is no question they are on one side or another. So-called journalists who report subjectively are editorialists masquerading as objective reporters.
People like to hear what affirms their beliefs. As children, we don’t like hearing our parents say, “No.” As adults, we gravitate towards those who tell us what we want to hear. Perhaps if the general public was willing to table their own preconceived notions and stop encouraging the stroking of their own belief systems, journalism might become an honest profession again.
Michael A. Matteo
Matteo is an international author and award-winning educator. His latest release is a YA dystopian novel, It Began with a Whisper. His work blends moral questions with compelling storytelling, encouraging readers to think deeply about justice, conscience, and personal courage. Beyond fiction, Matteo shares his perspective on learning, creativity, and community engagement, helping readers connect story with life.
