The ideological battle zone that is Seattle just got a little more intense, if radicals shouting down each other at city council meetings satisfies the definition of escalating polarization. Somewhere between Skid Row and the prevarications of Jeff Bezos, fact is being insufferably distorted by opinion.
With no requirement for further hate and vitriol within the Pacific Northwest model of public debate bordering on civil unrest, local Fox television affiliate KCPQ-TV threw gasoline on the epic dumpster fire of debate by broadcasting an altered video of President Trump’s Tuesday speech during a newscast, reports talk show host Todd Herman of Mynorthwest.com and KTTH-AM.
The television station is owned by Tribune media, and ironically carries content falling under the umbrella of the 21st Century Fox Rupert Murdoch empire, which is best known for originating the controversial Fox News cable channel.
In what is believed to be the first instance during the modern political era of a non-cable mainstream news source exposing the audience to obvious felonious and doctored imagery, the question remains when will the next incredulous version of a video hijack a traditional news broadcast? As the current controversy surrounds the questionable integrity of social networks in delivering balanced content, the importance of traditional news syndicates remaining unbiased is crucial in maintaining short-term sanctity, while preserving the fundamental building blocks of truth. As society stumbles and wavers with the proliferation of highly subjective information relentlessly broadcast through a variety of effective methods, the hyperbole of the CNN’s, MSNBC’s and to a lesser extent, Fox News, threaten to forever alter the concept of truth.
Aided by the faster than light word of mouth intoxicant of F***book and Twitter, hysteria is quickly replacing reality as the basic understanding of the world is clouded by instant gratification and reasonable perspective is obscured by emotion. As the online communities dissect and process the latest viral controversy, the desperate comparisons with the Jim Acosta baning incident, merely reflect the dire circumstances afflicting the pulse of a nation held prisoner by the need to jack-in, and allow the mind to be stimulated by a self-driving vehicle.
Unfortunately, it is all about perception, as the social networks are perceived by many as viable sources of information and worthy of attaining a journalistic status. Even though the brain children of Zuckerberg and Dorsey do not have to follow the same protocol as broadcast consortiums, when it comes to the sharing information or administering political advertising accounts, the influence of digital informational nodes has led users to the cusp of the rabbit hole and there is no turning back. As the frantic dash to establish political advertising policy in promoting transparency resounds throughout the online world, the old school dinosaurs of mono-vacuum tubes face the inevitable predicament in giving viewers the ultimate power. The easiest way to circumnavigate biased newsrooms is to change the channel.
Read the Mynorthwest.com story here.