There's an old rule in journalism: simplify. If there's a shorter, simpler version of a word, use it. Instead of saying "at this point in time," just say "now." This is doubly true in headline writing, where space is limited.
Jonathan Weisman breaks this rule on the front page of today's Washington Post. His story is headlined: "As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone." Untruths -- that's a clunky word. How about "lies"?
According to Weisman, that's a "taboo" in politics. He refers to it as the "L-word," and only uses it in sentences like this: "Palin and John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee, have been more aggressive in recent days in repeating what their opponents say are outright lies." But Palin's Bridge to Nowhere story is an outright lie; that's an objective fact.
The problem, as I wrote in my January Nation column, "The Lies of Quinn-Broderville," is that it's only easy for many in the insular mainstream media to call things lies when they step outside their well-defined assumptions -- for example, as I wrote, Richard Cohen easily (and without evidence) said Barack Obama and John Edwards lied when they respectively implied that institutional racism continues to rule the American justice system, and that so-called free-trade agreements destroy more working-class jobs than they create.
But John McCain has spent decades cultivating the assumption among journalists that he's an honest, straightforward politician with a distaste for actual politics. A maverick, if you will. And so Weisman has a hard time bringing himself to write that McCain is currently lying about Palin's "Bridge to Nowhere" heroics. The closest we get are some "untruths" -- charges leveled by opponents of course. Those outside the village. What's worse, alas, is the point that the Today's Papers person at Slate notices:
Although the WP does note that the Republican ticket has "been more aggressive in recent days in repeating what their opponents say are outright lies," it tries to make it seem as though this is the way both campaigns are operating by noting that there have been untrue rumors swirling around the Internet about Palin. But isn't there a fundamental distinction between e-mail rumors and what is said by candidates on the stump? TP sure wishes the WP-and all the other papers-would be less reluctant to explicitly qualify these lies and call them as such instead of saying that "their opponents say" they're lying. It would also be nice if there was recognition that not all "untruths" are created equal. For example, Obama's campaign has repeatedly quoted McCain saying that the economy is fundamentally sound. Is it disingenuous? Sure. That quote is months old and now McCain can't stop repeating that the economy is in trouble. But he did actually say it, which is quite different from making something up. Not that it would matter. "We have created a system where there is not a lot of shame in stretching the truth," one analyst said. And once these lies seep into the public consciousness, it's difficult to change them.
It often appears to me that to play by the rules of this particular game one has to pretend to be far stupider than one can possibly be. I'm sure Weisman knows the difference between Obama's level of "untruth" and Palin's. But he has to be even-handed and so we get this false equivalence, which is a disservice both to readers and to the truth.
To read the rest of today's Altercation, click here.
Fox News gives the "Pinocchio Ticket" five stars, "A real tear-jerker."
If we don't restore Truth--objective, factual and falsifiable (for Republicans, that means it can be tested and proven or disproven by objective means)--to it's necessary place in a modern, information-dependent society, we will lose our freedom AND our souls.
Weisman also claimed in the interview today that Democrats ALWAYS get better press than Republicans!
Ted Kopple pointed out that according to the Center for Media Awareness, Dems received 72% negative press, while Repubd received 52%.
This will only get uglier. The McCain camp is using access as a weapon. I say if they do not offer access, don't cover them!