The Fair Press is not a Free Press

Those that attempt to save the country by “saving the press” are making a grave mistake

I find it fascinating the words politicians use whenever they discuss media outlets. Politicians use terms like “free press” and “objective journalism” to defend institutions that treat them favorably, but then use language like “Fake News” or “hate speech” when referring to those outlets or platforms that are critical or disparaging. The left’s current round of pearl clutching about Trump’s “assault” on the media has spawned a new wave of cries for defense of the “free press.” Yet in truth Trump’s attacks seem little more than the criticism of the media on which he ran while he was a candidate, intended to play off of his base’s already deep mistrust of mainstream media. On the other hand, proposed interventions from candidates like Bernie Sanders, marketed as a way to save the press, are in a very real sense unnerving.

It is my view that the objective news is not something to be protected; it is not to be protected because it does not exist. There has never been a merely mortal human being capable of eliminating all bias and prejudice. When biased humans are involved in determining what, when, and how to cover events, the distortion of truth by that bias becomes apparent. It is apparent even when attempts are made…