Chris Mathews is the poster boy for what is wrong with the mainstream media. He has ascended to the key role as a political analyst and commentator at MSNBC, which is symbolic of who and what standards that network aspires to.
I watched him interview Donald Trump on their 'Townhall' program and it was indicative of why it is impossible to trust the mainstream media. Mathews doesn't pretend to be unbiased, so that is something that must be acknowledged. Though the network is oustensibly a news network, it is not unprecedented that opinions are shared. That is fine. But like the daily newspaper, there needs to be a clear deliniation between editorial and hard news. When the pretext of the program is a 'Townhall Interview' of the Republican Presidential candidate, it is not an opinion program, it is a 'News' program. Here is the problem: Chris Mathews made himself the story. For every two words Trump said, Mathews spewed at least three or four. His questions were incomplete, disconnected and rambling. He answered his own questions and then challenged Trump to respond to his assertions. Then, when Trump tried to formulate a coherent response, Mathews would either restructure the original question, or veer into another subject altogether. In the end, one subject became a viral news story. Trump suggested that a woman who has had an illegal abortion should be held legally accountable, or be punished. OMG! Who ever heard of someone who breaks a law being held accountable? Mathews just went berserk! But the point is, under the onslaught of such an unorganized, unfocused and accusatory verbal barrage, almost anyone would be inclined to make less-than-well-concieved answers. It is 'Gotcha' political news, and Mathews has placed himself directly in the spotlight. If you look up 'Gotcha News' in the dictionary, you will find a picture of Mathews. Unfortunately for America, it is not the first time the media has shaped the news instead of reporting it. This is a threat to our freedom because it determines what people learn from news events. It makes news outlets an accessory to the news, just as someone riding in the gettaway car is an accessory to a crime. It is one thing to be a witness to a crime, but quite another to participate, or worse, to direct a crime. To refer to MSNBC as a mainstream media news organization is a stretch, but like so many others, it has become the Bermuda Triangle of the Truth. |
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