longer.blue

The Master Magician-Trump Trump is the human equivalent of a 24/7 cable news outlet pumping out intriguing content that the real cable news channels are happily addicted to – admitted or not. According to NBC News, the president of the United States “reposted a baseless claim on Truth Social that former President Joe Biden was executed in 2020 and replaced with clones or robots”. Trump trumpeted this nonsense to get NBC News and other scribes fixated on the latest shiny bauble instead of exploring how his “big, beautiful” bill will strip millions of Americans of their health insurance and dilate the US deficit. A responsible newsroom must avoid as best it can serving as marionettes to Trump’s cynical schemes. That translates into ignoring the impulse to treat every incendiary outburst, insult, or incitement as urgent or newsworthy. Editors and producers should ask: Whose interests are being served by this coverage? If the answer is Trump’s, pause or take a refreshing pass. Journalists should redirect the lens towards substance, not stunts. That involves patience and the discipline to pose another important question: What is being hidden behind the colourful camouflage? The antidote to manipulation is not detachment – it’s sharp, vigilant coverage of the profound, human consequences of the president’s actions, not his antics. In its exhausting dance with Donald Trump, the fourth estate can and must stop mistaking the fireworks for the fire. Source-Andrew Mitrovica