Is our Fourth Estate helping or exaserbating our problems?

[JackLuis]

The recent events have lead me to ask the question about the role of the "Free Press" in our society. Particularly about their role in policing their own shop?
Example:
Philando Castile’s mom stunned when CNN’s Cuomo asks about Dallas

The mother and fiancée of Philando Castile lashed out at CNN’s Chris Cuomo for asking tone-deaf questions about Dallas and their loved one’s fatal shooting by police.

Cuomo started the interview Friday morning on “New Day” by asking Castile about her reaction to the fatal shootings of five police officers and the wounding of six others in Dallas, and she reacted in bewilderment.

“Me? I don’t know anything about what happened in Dallas,” Castile said. “I’m sure that what we have here planned in the state of Minnesota is not of that caliber. We’re having a peaceful protest, and I don’t know anything about what happened in Dallas. My son died just the other day, and I haven’t had sleep in almost 48 hours. So no, I haven’t been watching any television, so I can’t answer that.”

But I have seen no stories where any reporter asked the NRA about the shooting of a licensed to carry citizen in Minnesota. It seems to me that question should be asked, and reported.You would think that the NRA would have put out a presser about that since it shows the government isn't providing interested in the law.

Oops they did report but didn't ask the question.
NRA issues quick statement on Dallas shootings — still silent on Philando Castile and Alton Sterling

Less than twelve hours after the tragic killing of five police officers, the NRA has issued a statement offering condolences to the families of the officers — but so far has remained silent about the deaths of African Americans Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.

Following the shooting death of Alton Sterling on Wednesday — who was carrying a gun in his pocket when he was shot while pinned to the ground by Baton Rouge police officers — critics of the gun organization waited in vain for a statement on the death of the father of five.

No more than 24 hours later, 32-year-old Philando Castile was shot to death by a Minnesota police officer during a routine traffic stop as he sat in a car with his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter. At the time Castile was shot, he was reportedly reaching for his wallet while explaining to the officer that he had a gun as well as a concealed carry permit.

Again, news organizations and NRA observers received no acknowledgment from the gun rights organization that two gun owners, both black, had been been killed by police.

Conservative writer blames ‘race-baiting Pocahontas’ Elizabeth Warren for death of Dallas cops

Yet the press will report on ‘race-baiting Pocahontas’ but not point out that Liz made a great speech about the Banksters the other day. That speech should have dominated the news, but no, the "Popular Press" was all about 'Stars' in a tweet and other bullshit.

 

[patient1]

Probably both.

 

[Hard_Rom]

Oscar Wilde wrote:

In old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press. That is an improvement certainly. But still it is very bad, and wrong, and demoralizing. Somebody — was it Burke? — called journalism the fourth estate. That was true at the time no doubt. But at the present moment it is the only estate. It has eaten up the other three. The Lords Temporal say nothing, the Lords Spiritual have nothing to say, and the House of Commons has nothing to say and says it. We are dominated by Journalism.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

God created journalists to assault bull shit and chaos, and rescue truth. Then journalists discovered its a lot easier to create bull shit and chaos, and sells more papers.

 

[patient1]

Oscar Wilde wrote:

In old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press. That is an improvement certainly. But still it is very bad, and wrong, and demoralizing. Somebody — was it Burke? — called journalism the fourth estate. That was true at the time no doubt. But at the present moment it is the only estate. It has eaten up the other three. The Lords Temporal say nothing, the Lords Spiritual have nothing to say, and the House of Commons has nothing to say and says it. We are dominated by Journalism.

Nice quote. Probably true in it's day. The term fourth estate originated in one of the constitutions of France, before it's revolution.

I think that with the multitude of cable channels, the decline of city newspapers, and the infinitude of social media and the interwebs- we are no longer bound by the press. It's a post journalism era.

We can now customize our own reality.

 

[underguy1]

The modern mainstream media exists to channel elite propaganda via misinformation, disinformation, distraction and propaganda by omission.

The more you consume the less you know.

 

[patient1]

Unfortunately, all day tragedy coverage tends to trigger copycats.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Plenty of old newsmen confess they invented the news at bars, or made it up when they missed trains to the events. The news exists to line bird cages and lift Jack's mood.

 

[JackLuis]

-The news exists to line bird cages and lift Jack's mood.

They are failing with that by a good margin!