One of the undeniable truths of life is that every news report you read, listen to, or watch is biased. And the bias is always intentional. However, it is not always done to deceive or mislead the consumer. If you are in broadcast media, you have a limited amount of time for each story. In traditional print media, you have a certain amount of space that is limited. In all of these cases, you must decide what information to include that will interest the consumer of the news. A reporter will draw upon his or her personal experience in making that determination. An individual success as a reporter and a company's success as reporting agency depends upon attracting news consumers. Which is why it amazes me that a huge percentage of the mainstream media reports the same information as their competitors on a regular basis. I also want to make it clear that not everyone in the news business engages in conscious, manipulative reporting so as to influence the consumer.

All of that being said, we know that throughout history news reporting agencies have been biased in order to help promote an individual, a cause or to achieve some other end. Politicians have used their friends in the media by granting them special access and confidential information in order to get them to report certain stories in a favorable light or to ignore other stories. But it does seem that in the past there was, even in those instances, a desire to report some of the truth. Today it seems that many news organizations have thrown their integrity out the door and are involved completely in being propaganda machines.

Look at how many stories about President Trump have been not just misreported with key facts being left out, but also being completely false with no modicum of truth involved in the reporting of the story. Take the example of Jeffrey Golberg at the Atlantic. His story, which was repeated by Joe Biden in a recent appearance and is being used in one of his television commercials, who reported that President Trump called our World War II soldiers losers. Everyone that was involved in that trip has said no such words were uttered nor words that were even similar. Goldberg has stuck by his claim for the most part citing four confidential sources but has admitted that maybe they got it wrong. The problem is, that the narrative is now out there and is believed by too many people to be true.

In the case of Brianna Taylor, the narrative is that she was asleep in her bed with her boyfriend when police ignored all legal protocol and shot her to death. She is described as an EMT and a good person in the community. Now that the grand jury has seen the actual facts and found the police officers acted appropriately, with one exception, people believe the narrative and are rioting in the streets. The truth is that independent witnesses confirmed the police announced to themselves prior to the exchange of gunfire. Brianna's boyfriend had an outstanding warrant which was being served on him by the police and he was the one that jumped out of bed grabbed a gun and initiated the gunfire. She was also out of bed running to get in between her boyfriend and the police. She also was part of the investigation as she had been recorded on jailhouse phone calls talking with her boyfriend about his drug running operation and her involvement in it.

Move on to Black Lives Matter. The narrative in the media is that this is a grassroots organization concerned with ensuring that black Americans are treated equally under the law and that the wholesale persecution of that community by police and our governmental entities needs to be stopped. Never mind that not one cent of the $6 billion raised by BLM has gone to inner city neighborhoods to promote education or economic activity. Never mind that BLM's buses have not shown up in those areas hit hard by the hurricanes to help out black Americans whose lives have been destroyed. Never mind that BLM's founders and leaders are all on record as promoting communism and the Marxist doctrine. Never mind that they are also on the record as demanding a separate nation rather than true equality and inclusion.

This all leads me to the conclusion that our educational institutions are teaching the future journalists that there is essentially no difference between reporting the news and expressing opinions on the editorial page. At the very least the professors or not making a distinction between the two and the corporations running the news companies are certainly allowing this behavior to continue. Combine that with the fact that so many of our fellow citizens or incapable of thinking critically when consuming news reports, thus they believe what they are told even when it is completely illogical. And thus, we have riots because people believe a false narrative.

Another undeniable truth of life is that we don't want to believe people in positions of authority will lie to us. So when the reporter is telling us what we believe are facts about a specific situation, we tend to believe what we are being told, even though our own experience tells us that what we are being told may not be true or accurate. Yet, here we are with politicians and media personalities out right lying to us on a regular basis. It's funny in a sad way that so many people do not possess or know how to use their critical thinking skills when it comes to consuming the news yet they use those skills in their everyday lives when making purchases or deciding where to send their kids to go to school.

Once again it comes down to a simple but difficult solution: we must take the time to find alternative sources of news or multiple sources from which to garner the information we need to make a decision about what is accurate and what is not. That can be a time-consuming process for which many people believe they do not have the time. But the consequences of failing to do so are so important, not only the future of our country but that of our children, that we should be putting that effort into trying to find out the truth.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.