The Media Shouldn't be Questioned! Really?

By Rich Kozlovich, Tags:

Recently quite a stir was created when NBC's Lester Holt warns media against giving 'platform for misinformation.  Zachary Evans framed his comments in his piece NBC’s Lester Holt Urges Journalists to Ditch Objectivity: ‘Fairness Is Overrated’, in this manner saying:

Lester Holt, anchor of NBC’s Nightly News, said Tuesday that journalists should be more active in communicating what they see as the “truth” on any given issue, giving the cut-and-dried example of informing readers that “the sun sets in the west” and disregarding any contrary claims.............“I think it’s become clearer that fairness is overrated,” Holt said. “Before you run off and tweet that headline, let me explain a bit. The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in. That the sun sets in the west is a fact. Any contrary view does not deserve our time or attention.

”Holt added, “Decisions to not give unsupported arguments equal time are not a dereliction of journalistic responsibility or some kind of agenda, in fact, it’s just the opposite.”..........NBC recently launched a so-called “disinformation” desk, whose goal is to root out online purveyors of contrary political narratives. 

On the surface that seems reasonable, but what if the media is wrong?  As I've watched their insane support ofand the rest of the members of the Church of the Warming Globe, and sideline anyone, no matter how respected and well informed they may be in their fields, disagree, and do so intelligently and knowledgeably, I've wondered what's wrong with these people?

The same scenario plays out regarding any dissent about how these coronavirus "pandemic" mandates are not only wrong, their disastrous.  As a result, you can conclude it isn't unreasonable to frame his comments as: 

The Media Should Not Be Allowed to Be Questioned!

Well, what if the media isn't just wrong? What if it's corrupt in it's presentation of the news or any issue for that matter?

It turns out "Lester Who's Not to Be Questioned", was caught deceptively editing Columbus shooting video and 911 call.  

Craig Bannister, on April 22nd says:

 "Lester Holt needs to go on the air immediately and apologize for the way he reported on Ohio Police Officer Nicholas Reardon’s deadly shooting of a knife-wielding Black 16 year-old, Ma’khia Bryant".  Crucial parts of the 911 call Officer Reardon was responding to and characterized Bryant’s possession of a knife, visible in body camera footage, as merely a contention by police.

So, what we now know is Lester Holt, who just won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement, is a media hack who isn't concerned with truth, facts and misinformation because he's not only promoting misinformation, he's creating it.  He, right along with all these colleagues who honored him are all part of the same corrupt institutional journalism, has this one overriding philosophy:  

Narrative Trumps Truth! No pun intended. 

 

NBC News Anchor: Nobody Should be Allowed to Question the Media

By Graham J Noble April 02, 2021 @ Liberty Nation News Articles, Establishment Media

Lester Holt, longtime NBC News anchor, is one of many once-respected newsmen who appears to have sold out to editorial pressures. He recently gave voice to something many journalists, editors, news anchors, and talk show hosts have believed for at least the last ten years or so – and perhaps for very much longer than that. On March 30, while accepting an award at the 45th Murrow Symposium, Holt admitted that he believes reporters should decide for themselves – and presumably for their audience – what is true and what is fact, and then quite simply disregard everything else.

Is Holt implying that journalists do not have a duty to search for the truth? Yes, that is exactly what he’s saying. After all, the truth – of anything – is not always obvious. Oftentimes the truth can only be clearly discerned by questioning, by doubting, by cross-examining. Sometimes, facts can only be established by searching for the existence of alternative facts.

No Duty to Question?

This is precisely why people suspected of committing crimes are tried before they are convicted. This is how scientific discoveries are made. This is why we now know that the Earth revolves around the Sun, rather than the opposite; something that was once considered “fact.”

Journalists should follow a different model, according to Holt. He is, in essence, claiming that confirmation bias should be the gold standard in journalism; that reporters and correspondents should not be lending credibility to anything that would appear to cast doubt on what they have already decided is true.

For those not familiar with the term, confirmation bias is the disregarding of any information, statements, or opinions that do not support one’s beliefs, while searching out only that which supports the position one has already chosen to take. Most people are, to a certain extent, guilty of confirmation bias. Politicians and journalists are probably the ones who suffer the most from this affliction.

“I think it’s become clear that fairness is overrated,” Holt said before going on to elaborate. “The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in.”

That’s just fine, so long as one side of an issue is absolutely beyond question. In such a case, the anchor would be correct; what has “fairness” got to do with anything when the indisputable truth has been established? Is it worth giving someone a platform to deny that truth, just to be “fair”? As Holt himself put it: “That the sun sets in the west is a fact. Any contrary view does not deserve our time or attention.”

Where the argument falls apart, though, is determining what is true – what is factually accurate – and what is not. There is a discovery process involved, here, that gets us to the point of ascertaining the truth and the facts. During that discovery process, alternative accounts of what happened and who said what must be considered.

Holt is arguing that this discovery process is not just unnecessary, but bad journalistic practice. He contends that he and his media colleagues are – and should be – the arbiters of truth; and once they have decided what is the truth they have a duty to exclude any information that appears to cast doubt – silence anyone who claims that the truth, as accepted, is not really the truth.

As an example, the establishment media is outraged by the “fact” that Georgia’s new election law prohibits anyone from providing water to people standing in line at a polling place. If Holt’s argument is to be applied to this story, then no newspaper, website, or TV news channel should allow any time or column inches to anyone who disputes this supposedly established fact. Yet, the Georgia law explicitly allows for the provision of water to people who are lining up to vote; it is not permitted to approach someone in line, but water can be given to the polling staff who can then distribute it to those who need it.

Unreliable Sources

There are just too many cases to list of newspapers, websites, and even cable or broadcast news shows having to retract a story or issue an apology for airing or publishing claims that were factually inaccurate, misleading, or deceptive. In some cases, journalists, hosts, or editors have been fired for such transgressions. Numerous reports of highly consequential events have relied upon “anonymous sources” that turned out to be unreliable or, in some cases, perhaps entirely fictional.

Holt is conflating “fairness” with accountability; suggesting that news organizations need not allow themselves to be questioned or doubted, once they have decided what is “true.” Clearly – and recent history has shown this to be the case, time and time again – the media, with few exceptions, have not proven themselves to be responsible enough or honest enough to be afforded immunity from cross-examination, which is what Holt is demanding.

~

Read more from Graham J. Noble.

Brit Hume delivers Journalism 101 lesson to Lester Holt

Follows NBC anchor's claim that 'fairness is overrated'

By Bob Unruh April 3, 2021

 

Brit Hume – after 23 years with ABC News, 12 years as Washington managing editor with Fox News and more as senior political analyst for Fox – has delivered a Journalism 101 lesson to Lester Holt.  Holt, the NBC anchor, said Tuesday while accepting an award recently, "I think it's become clear that fairness is overrated." 

 

Hume responded on Twitter.

"This argument rests on the proposition that the media always know the truth," he said. "But they don't, as his own network's coverage of the bogus – and implausible – Russia collusion tale illustrates. Not to mention the media's reporting of early Covid 19 advice that turned out wrong."..........

However, Tim Graham, executive editor of the Media Research Center, said that while Holt doesn't believe in an open platform for "misinformation," he readily provides an "open platform" for Hillary Clinton.. ..............To Read More....

 

‘Fairness Is Overrated’: NBC’s Lester Holt Scolds Media for Covering ‘Misinformation’

Nate Church 31 Mar 2021

On Tuesday, NBC News Anchor Lester Holt scolded the media for giving “misinformation” coverage. During his acceptance of the Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism on Tuesday, Lester Holt criticized the idea of always covering both sides of a given debate. “I think it’s become clearer that fairness is overrated,” Holt said.  “Before you run off and tweet that headline, let me explain a bit. The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in,” he said. “That the sun sets in the west is a fact. Any contrary view does not deserve our time or attention.”...........To Read More....

My Take - Who is he to lecture anyone about integrity? Lester Holt is overrated, and part of the process of media corruption.  Does the media consider critics of global warming initiatives, many of whom are very real experts in the field, part of his misinformation definition.  He clearly considers any resistance against all these pandemic mandates to me misinformation, yet it's clear the science in on my side....it really is a conspiracy to tyrannize America.  Well, I  hope he and his follow media hypocrites continue in their vain hypocrisy because they're losing readership, viewership and hopefully soon will be out of business.  A day for rejoicing.  

• No Hugging, No Kissing – Until the Government Says So    
• Texas Coronavirus Cases Drop over Two Weeks After Restrictions, Mask Mandate Lifted

  
  

 

Lester Holt sides with Kim Jong-un, mass murderer

Lester Holt's travels in North Korea have given a favorable view of that dictatorship. This is unfortunate.

By John Dietrich

NBC's Lester Holt traveled to North Korea in advance of the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in order to inform the American public about the situation there. North Korea is possibly one of the most tragic examples of what 21st-century despotism is capable of.   The Human Rights Watch World Report 2017 claimed, "North Korea remains one of the most repressive states in the world."

Holt's report can be described only as despicable. He follows a long line of Western reporters who have been willing tools of leftist dictators. They were and are accomplices in the mass murder of millions of people. Pulitzer Prize-winner Walter Duranty is perhaps the best example of this, as he tried to minimize the impact of Stalin's policies in Ukraine. These policies led to the deaths of millions of people.........To Read More....