Reporters versus propagandists

This interview is a prime example of what's wrong with American news media today, in particular cable news, and most particularly Fox "News."

In this clip you will see Mayor Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City, Utah, being "interviewed" by the hosts of Fox & Friends, Fox News' morning news/talk show.

Mayor Anderson was due to lead a large protest against President George W. Bush, who was coming to Salt Lake City to speak to the American Legion (and to headline a fundraiser for Sen. Orrin Hatch, where 1,000 Republicans payed $500-a-plate to be in the same dining room as the president. So, yes, he came to speak to the American Legion, but he also raised $500,000 for the campaign of Orrin Hatch.)

In any case, in the clip above you will see the interviewees, particularly Ms. E.D. White, attack the mayor's position rather than interview him.

And this is what I want to emphasize: In TV news, many interviewers, such as the ones in the above clip, have been, for years now, leading off questions with phrases like "Some would say..." and "Many people believe..." Phrases like those disgust me as a journalist. They have no place in a real interview because they are nothing more devices used to by a reporter to either disguise his or her own bias, or to create an equal and opposing position to stand in opposition to the interviewee's position, without actually having to find someone to give voice to that opposing position. This is yellow journalism.

Fox asks the mayor: "Some people are saying it's the mayor's job is to welcome the president to the city, not attack him. Some people are saying you're embarassing Salt Lake City. What do you say to them?"

To who? The Republican PR operative who distributed today's talking points to Roger Ailes?

A real journlist would politely ask: "What role should a mayor play when the president visits his city?" That's a real question. That's a question you would ask of someone whom you expect to speak to again professionally.

As this clip roles on, the "reporters" abandon any pretense of journalistic integrity. They closet he interview by engaging in a direct argument with the mayor. This is shameful behavior. It's too bad Fox News has no interest in journalistic ethics.