Exploring the links between political polarization and declining trust in news media
The press should have been asking questions over the past 35 years- no matter who was in office. This is not the case.
Iraq, Sept 11th, GWOT, Afghanistan, a $51.6 billion (every 12 months) US Dept. of Homeland Security that fails to keep opioids/cartel product from showing up all over the US, etc.
New $1.7 billion aid package for Ukraine.
Six US Presidents have now had their hands on the wheel in Iraq
Mainstream media functions like paid actors reading a script.
Americans do not live in a free and honest society. Today, the mainstream media will function like paid actors reading a script:
In the news:
Biden honors Americans who ‘stood on the front lines of freedom’ in Veterans Day remarks
CNN Nov 11, 2023
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Candidate ____________,
Going back to the 1990 Operation Desert Shield,
How would American freedoms today be any different if US troops were never sent to Iraq?
How Do The Troops Defend The Constitution?
Not asking about the oath of enlistment. Asking about what happens after the oath has been taken.
Love to see newspeople interview elected officials and let us know how sending US Troops to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, etc., is somehow defending the constitution.
In recent years, the press tends to support government agencies, departments and policies rather than question them.
Small Town Paper – Local News
Example one:
August 11, 2023 Whidbey News-Times
Whidbey sewer plants win state awards
“The Oak Harbor Clean Water Facility was recognized as outstanding by the Department of Ecology.”
“The Coupeville treatment plant received the outstanding performance award for the 13th consecutive year, and the Holmes Harbor plant was awarded for the 17th year in a row. The Penn Cove wastewater treatment plant was also a recipient this year.”
Beach adjacent to Award Winning Sewage Treatment Plant:
Coupeville
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
Source: WDFW
Would any newsperson ever ask:
When is the last time all of Penn Cove was safe for recreational shellfish harvest?
Zero questions from small or large newspapers. Zero questions from TV newspeople.
Several years ago I grabbed a camera and went out to make my way around Penn Cove.
Photos and news links here:
Wastewater Treatment Plant – Department of Ecology Award For Outstanding Performance
Coupeville
Another Month With An R at Captain Thomas Coupe Park – Site Visit
Is this sign still posted? Real newspeople could go to find out, then report back.
North side of Penn Cove at Monroe Landing
Site Visit – Another Month With An R at Monroe Landing
Is this sign still posted? Real newspeople could go to find out, then report back.
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
Is this sign still posted? Real newspeople could go to find out, then report back.
Distance learning idea:
Podcast 4 Another Month With An R – Whidbey Sewage Treatment Plant Outfalls
Small Town Paper – Local News
Example two:
$6.3 million in federal cash for a used Ocean Shores hotel.
Any questions from newspeople?
December 8, 2022 The Daily World
Dept. of Ag invests $6.3M to purchase Ocean Shores hotel
$6.3 million “to fund the acquisition of an existing hotel. Marathon Enterprises Inc. is located in Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County, Washington. The project is expected to result in saving eight jobs and creating one full time job.”
Zero questions from small or large newspapers. Zero questions from TV newspeople.
The small papers will say they need more support from subscribers and advertising dollars or cash from the federal government to stay alive. All this because COVID or the internet or lack of newspaper sales, or a free and independent press that needs taxpayer support.
People who take no public funds, private donations or advertising dollars are free to ask questions at any time. Why not the press? Call for unpaid volunteers and you’d get better news coverage than what we have now.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of newspeople asking questions.
No sense in subscribing to newspapers that do not ask public policy-related questions.
JFK speaks about the role of the press in a free society:
Local news article:
June 4, 2024 The Daily World
One wounded, one arrested following Saturday morning shooting
“…the gun was licensed to him.”
Questions for the press:
Does owning a handgun in WA require a license? How and when is a handgun licensed in WA?
Port Angeles CBP
Are newspeople forbidden to ask questions related to Homeland Security funding and performance?
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Newspeople asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
After a Port Angeles CBP buildup that took place more than a decade ago, is there any follow up made by the press to inform the public on whatever results have been achieved?
Massing US Border Patrol agents at the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca fails to keep more than 392 pounds of meth and two pounds of fentanyl powder from arriving in Port Angeles:
Jul 29, 2024 KONP
DRUG-FILLED DUFFEL BAGS FOUND ON PORT ANGELES BEACH IN 2021 LEAD TO CONVICTION
The Oak Bay Starfish take:
Port Angeles – Federal Employees Create News Story About 342 Pounds Of Meth
Port Angeles Homeland Security & CBP Buildup
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been involved in any arrest or seizure related in any way to the US/Canada border?
Newspeople remain silent.
Whidbey Homeland Security Grant Money- Newspeople Remain Silent
Possibly of interest:
Years ago, I lived in several different small town areas. Places like Kingston, Port Hadlock and north of Penn Cove.
These areas had small, local newspapers and those papers featured active, online comment sections. Paying for a newspaper subscription was OK with me. There were basic rules for commenting, but it did not seem to matter what name people went by. I never cared.
I used to love the comment sections.
Local papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.
Various newspapers in the Puget Sound area have gone with this trend.
Suppressing comments, getting away from asking questions related to public policy and telling us they need more support from subscription and advertising sales.
Got it.
Related:
35 Years of Not Asking Questions
Decades of Mysterious Failures
Would any newsperson ever ask:
Sound Publishing And Black Press Media
A Truly Weak Culture In Terms of Newspeople Asking Questions