Sorry for the delayed post. I wrote it a few days ago but it got lost in websoace – honest.
It’s a rather exciting time in American Politics.
Think about it more people watched the acceptance speeches of the two presidential candidates than watched the Beijing Opening Ceremony.
That’s really wonderful. It means that our democracy is interested in how we shape the future of our government.
We in the media have a key role to play here. The interesting part is how the parties want to control our role or criticize us when we dig in the dark corners and try to shine a light on the candidates.
A classic example is Sarah Palin. I’m not going to share with you my political leanings here.
What is important is how a party criticizes us when we start asking questions. Tough questions. Honestly, I don’t believe there are stupid questions these days because you never know what may come to light or the surface.
When Palin was announced many of us looked at each other and said who? What? Huh? So the questions started to flow and the answers seemed to change on a daily basis. We saw that some of the biographical facts distributed by the party weren’t quite accurate or seemed “stretched.”
The party has tried to demonize the media.
Our goal is to ask all of the questions. We’re supposed to dig. Unfortunately in this web/cable news world you see the press conferences in real time or he reporters doing their job and being pushy. We’re watching sausage being made. It’s a dirty process and what really counts is what comes out in the end. We’re supposed to ask the questions of all sides, vet for the truth and dig.
You want us to do this of all candidates. We continue to do this with Obama and we will do this through the campaign with McCain, Biden and everyone else.
It’s our job. Period.
It’s what the framers of the constitution demanded with the first amendment. You should be demanding this, even if the answers upset you, offend you or make you angry.
You may not like how we do it. It can be ugly and beautiful at the same time.
But without us digging, uncovering and discovering you’re making critical decisions about our future based on what candidates want you to hear. There’s spin, stretch and misinformation.
Sure, some may say some news organizations have a bias. Their bias honestly is a marketing ploy.
Regardless, you want us getting as much information as possible so you can make the decision in the booth.
Steve Schwaid's Blog 