The end of Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has led to claims from the left and the right that mainstream media got the Russia story wrong. President Trump’s claim of “complete and total vindication” was predictable - and predictably false. He tweeted: “The Mainstream Media is under fire and being scorned all … [Read more...] about Was Russiagate the worst press failure since weapons of mass destruction?
Opinion
Death of print doesn’t have to mean death of local journalism; Reflection on donuts and sports agate after Sunday Mass
I grew up in a two-newspaper home in Belleville, Illinois, and have few fonder memories than Sunday mornings after Mass with a dozen glazed from Mallo’s Bakery and multiple pages of beautiful sports agate, jam packed with box scores and standings. Those and countless other mornings at the kitchen table with ink-stained fingers inspired what is now closing in on a 30-year run in … [Read more...] about Death of print doesn’t have to mean death of local journalism; Reflection on donuts and sports agate after Sunday Mass
Fake news: consequences and some solutions
Fake news is a current phenomenon, though it dates back hundreds of years ago. In the earliest days of printing, newspapers published articles about monstrous beasts or unusual occurrences. The discovery of a monster with “goat’s legs, a human body, seven arms and seven hands” was published in a pamphlet in 1657 in Catalonia. In 1611, an English pamphlet also published a … [Read more...] about Fake news: consequences and some solutions
Khashoggi’s death: A part of Saudi’s information war in the Middle East
The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death is a part of Saudi Arabia’s information war in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia wants to cut off criticism in and outside the country by controlling media outlets and journalists. According to the Human Rights Watch, there are at least 60 people currently in jail just for expressing their opinions that differ from the … [Read more...] about Khashoggi’s death: A part of Saudi’s information war in the Middle East
Year two of Trump’s assault on truth: A Twitter presidency in age of information chaos
President Trump’s assault on truth has developed into the central organizing principle of his presidency. For two years he has piled lie upon lie to build an alternative reality, a fable embraced by tens of millions of credulous adherents. The president’s false statements and lies aren’t occasional, unguarded fibs. They fit together in an all-encompassing strategy of … [Read more...] about Year two of Trump’s assault on truth: A Twitter presidency in age of information chaos