• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Gateway Journalism Review

Published continuously since 1970

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Phone
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About GJR
  • News
    • Police Accountability Project
    • Midwest
    • Opinion
    • Media
  • Print issue
  • First Amendment Celebration
    • Watch: 11th Annual First Amendment Celebration

When Pols Mention “Folks,'' Journalists Should Take Note

June 21, 2011 by George Salamon

image_pdfimage_print

During a recent interview, President Obama said: “I think ordinary folks understand I spend all my time thinking about this stuff (jobs, the economy), because I’m talking to these folks every single day.”

Every time a politician talks about “folks,” listeners or readers should cringe. Journalists should sit up and pay attention. The term often conveys condescension, whether used alone or with “ordinary” attached to it.

Our president’s use of it twice in one sentence ought not to douse our suspicion: does anyone really believe he “talks to these folks every single day?”  Sure, cut him some slack and allow him a touch of hyperbole. But has anyone in the press corps checked just how frequently he talks to the “ordinary,” say to a nurse in Baltimore, to a truck driver in Denver or to a machinist in Cleveland?

When he and other politicians say “folks,” they actually mean “the

micro niche finder

great unwashed” out there, the people who are not rich, not powerful and not celebrities.  And, especially, those who are not major contributors to their political party or campaign. But they may be voters.

President Obama is scheduled to dine soon with bankers and hedge fund managers, people he once called “fat cats,” in New York  to mend fences and raise cash for the 2012 presidential race. Bet he doesn’t refer to his dinner companions to be as “folks.”

When the master of ceremonies at a bingo game at a Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Indiana calls the players “folks,” that’s fine. His life is much like theirs and he’s not talking down at them. But when the word comes out of the mouths of powerful politicians or fat cat financiers in their administration, it’s just patronizing. They should stop using the word and address us as “fellow citizens” or “fellow Americans.”

micro niche finder

zp8497586rq

Author

  • George Salamon

    View all posts

Share our journalism
           

Filed Under: Media

Archive of St. Louis Journalism Review

The St. Louis Public Library maintains an archive of our collection when Gateway Journalism Review was the St. Louis Journalism Review.

Primary Sidebar

Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

Don't miss original stories about local journalism happening between the coasts. We deliver media news from the Midwest to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Gateway Journalism Review, SIU Carbondale School of Journalism, Carbondale, IL, 62901, http://www.gatewayjr.org. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
No audio track to show. (Invalid input URL)

Life After Journalism


IRE Radio


Illinois News Broadcasters


Footer

11th Annual First Amendment Celebration featuring Evan Osnos

https://vimeo.com/704150392?loop=0

10th Annual First Amendment Celebration featuring Claire McCaskill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwtrmyauuBA

Listen to GJR’s Founder

Become a sustaining member or associate of GJR with a recurring or one-time donation that supports our journalism.

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in