"Our Trump reporting upsets some readers, but there aren't two sides to facts"

[Nevilledog]

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/03/our-trump-reporting-upsets-some-readers-but-there-arent-two-sides-to-facts-letter-from-the-editor.html

No paywall link
https://archive.li/xEQ1p

*snip*

This is a tough column to write, because I don’t want to demean or insult those who write me in good faith. I’ve started it a half dozen times since November but turned to other topics each time because this needle hard to thread. No matter how I present it, I’ll offend some thoughtful, decent people.

The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.

The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse.

This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw, but our eyes don’t deceive. (If leaders began a yearslong campaign today to convince us that the Baltimore bridge did not collapse Tuesday morning, would you ever believe them?) Trust your eyes. Trump on Jan. 6 launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.

The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it.

*snip*

[Kid Berwyn]

1. Chris Quinn is a real journalist: "The north star here is truth."

On the ball:

The March 25 edition of the New Yorker magazine offers some insight. It includes a detailed review of a new book about Adolf Hitler, focused on the year 1932. It’s called “Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power” and is by historian Timothy W. Ryback. It explains how German leaders – including some in the media -- thought they could use Hitler as a means to get power for themselves and were willing to look past his obvious deficiencies to get where they wanted. In tolerating and using Hitler as a means to an end, they helped create the monstrous dictator responsible for millions of deaths.

How are those German leaders different from people in Congress saying the election was stolen or that Jan. 6 was not an insurrection aimed at destroying our government? They know the truth, but they deny it. They see Trump as a means to an end – power for themselves and their “team” – even if it means repeatedly telling lies.

Sadly, many believe the lies. They trust people in authority, without questioning the obvious discrepancies or relying on their own eyes. These are the people who take offense to the truths we tell about Trump. No one in our newsroom gets up in the morning wanting to make a segment of readers feel bad. No one seeks to demean anyone. We understand what a privilege it is to be welcomed into the lives of the millions of people who visit our platforms each month for news, sports and entertainment. But our duty is to the truth.

Our nation does seem to be slipping down the same slide that Germany did in the 1930s. Maybe the collapse of government in the hands of a madman is inevitable, given how the media landscape has been corrupted by partisans, as it was in 1930s Germany.

Continues...

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/03/our-trump-reporting-upsets-some-readers-but-there-arent-two-sides-to-facts-letter-from-the-editor.html

Good writing, too -- and that means good editing, too.

[ck4829]

2. K&R

[RussellCattle]

3. Perfect. Just perfect. And the fact that this is from Cleveland, my birthplace, just warms....

......my heart. Bite me, Fox News. This is speaking truth to the masses.

[birdographer]

12. Fellow Clevelander here!

👋

[RussellCattle]

59. Gotta love that town.

[Blue Owl]

4. This article makes Merrick Garland look even more soggy

[emulatorloo]

5. That's a real stretch. But you do you.

[Blue Owl]

33. I just did myself, and the results are in: I still think Merrick Garland is soggy

[emulatorloo]

37. Yeah you did do "you," because you certainly didn't see anything in the article to support yr "opinion."

As sop note below:

"No matter how strongly a thing may be believed, strength of belief is no criterion of truth." - Nietzsche

[Karma13612]

6. This is what I've been saying for years.

Instead of cow towing to every silly person who can’t handle facts, journalist AND our elected officials MUST tell it like it is.

Instead of feeding into the conspiracy theories of their constituents, politicians should be TELLING them the facts. They are so afraid of losing votes, they are willing to perpetuate lies and misinformation.

It does no one any good and it means we wind up where we are now. That is to say, a country losing rights, with a fractured democracy and horrible legislators.

[slightlv]

27. It's not just that they're afraid of losing votes,

the Repug party has been working towards this end for decades. Each time they get into the Oval Office, they push the needle a little further. The last one was Bush the Lesser. He and Cheney were the ones fine-tuning this Unitary Executive idea. That's one reason why old Repugs never fade away... they just find other offices in which to embed themselves. That way, they can keep on trying to take over the country.

The Repugs have been fighting against democracy for as long as I've been alive... and I just turned 69. I could never make my Dad see that the party wasn't the party he grew up with back in the 20's and 30's. But I am so infinitely glad he's no longer around to see what they have become, and how they've demeaned the WWII duties he was so proud to serve. I can't help but feel he'd have had a heart attack when *rump refused to honor the D-Day celebration, or heard him talk about disabled soldiers the way he does. I'm just glad he missed all that -- although I sure miss him in my daily life... and all the "discussions" we had around politics!

[Cosmocat]

55. Ditto

I am behind you a bit, but long before Donald Trump, the Rs have been working long and hard, in MANY ways, to deconstruct our democracy

[Karma13612]

60. Thanks for your

Thoughtful and personal response.

So sorry I didn’t respond sooner!

Yes, I agree that Republicans have been the party of destruction and hypocrisy for years.

They want small government but have no trouble with taking away rights every chance they get.

[slightlv]

61. They will have a small government, Karma...

anything that helps the "common" person will be done away with. We will live in a polluted country -- the resources we need to live will be polluted. The religion that some people cherish will be polluted. Anything that has made our life worth living will be polluted and defiled -- and done completely away with altogether. This is what my father feared when he fought the nazi in WWII. Carrying on his legacy is why I went into the Air Force at 18. I don't think enough of us went into the military because of our parents' goals and decisiveness. Too many went into it for the job and salary. (Although the salary, at least when I was in, sucked.) Since Viet Nam, which many people alive today weren't alive for when it happened, have had a fairly peaceful time, militarily wise. Of course, 9/11 changed that, but 9/11 service was something different. It wasn't fighting the nazis... something that could effect this country. It was fighting the age-old fight of xtianity against the saracens. It was a religious fight, tho it wasn't put out that way.

I do miss my dad... we had some real "conversations" about politics. The strange thing was, take out the political names and parties, and our thoughts were exactly the same as to what should be done. Of course, this was back in the 70's and the 60's... it was much the same with my grandmother and her religion. As long as we kept the religious terms out of it, we were in complete accord. Words mean something, and too many times they divide people much more than they bring them together, I find.

[yardwork]

7. I grew up reading the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

It's always been a good paper.

[marble falls]

10. Absolutely. But this article misses the boat.

[niyad]

30. In what way?

[marble falls]

45. As representitive of the great paper the Plain Dealer was, and still pretty much is ...

... this opinion is of a "are too, am not" quality. They are, too. A TFG article is much more likely than POTUS article.

[Cartoonist]

8. Trump supporters are not decent people.

I have two brothers. One is a racist. The other is a flat-earther who insists that Paul McCartney is dead. I am not hesitant to say I am ashamed to be related to them.
This journalist can do better than to pre-applogize to strangers.

[Boomerproud]

11. Does your brother hang out on You Tube?

Every single Paul McCartney video has at leas t one fool saying "That's Faul." Very annoying. Don't get me started on the Civil War videos and the comments.

[marble falls]

9. Blather and rationalization. I think he doth protest too much.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

13. How so? The author points out the similarities between Hitler and traitortrump and parts of the media.

[marble falls]

48. For starters, comparing TFG to Hitler trivializes Hitler. For TFG to be Hitler, he'd need the acquiescence ...

... of most of the nation. He may like Hitler, may want to be another Hitler, but he isn't Hitler. Let's quit giving him that power when he is a garden variety populist.

[Random Boomer]

57. It's a valid comparison for the respective eras

The current Trump -- and the way the GOP has tried to use him -- is, in fact, remarkably similar to how Hitler first began his rise to power.

We know how that all ended for Germany and Hitler; we have no idea how it will end for the U.S. and Trump. We're not there yet. Hopefully, there will be no comparison for the end stage of each of their trajectories.

[dpibel]

14. What makes you say that?

I honestly have no idea what you're angry about here.

It seems like a pretty straightforward condemnation of Trump and Trumpism.

What is it that you want this person to say?

[marble falls]

49. The discussion the author made was "we don't pay attention to TFG in a manner that boosts TFG and ...

... cuts Joe Biden as a President short." "Hitler" is the editorial rationalization for the over-coverage of a criminal.

[dchill]

18. Do tell.

[niyad]

31. Are you feeling okay today?

[marble falls]

50. Feel fine. Tired of the overcoverage of TFG and the undercoverage of Biden/Harris and the good being ...

... by them, and all the reasons media covers it like this. There's only one reason they are doing this: to make a fake horse race drive readership and raise ad revenue.

[lastlib]

47. Are you sure you're on the right board?

This is not Free republic. I think what you're peddling probly belongs there. The vast majority here will agree this article hits the mark exactly. If you don't agree, you should probably give a good reason why, if you can. I don't see one.

[KS Toronado]

15. Little reminder.......

[hibbing]

16. Live in the light of the truth..

Not the shadows of lies. J. Biden

[dawn5651]

17. let me tell you what offends me. it is the constant barrage of hate directed

at democrats by tfg. the video of the half ton truck going down the highway with a picture of biden hogtied on the back door of the truck bed. those things all offend me...we can talk about the issues without that kind of rhetoric. democrats manage that fact why can't republicans.

[sop]

19. "No matter how strongly a thing may be believed, strength of belief is no criterion of truth." - Nietzsche

[Demovictory9]

20. "He is unique among all American presidents for his efforts to keep power at any cost."

[peggysue2]

21. Hear, Hear!

If more journalists/editors had been writing in this vein, we wouldn't be standing as close to a political cliff edge.

for this column. About time!

[GiqueCee]

22. Tell it, Nevilledog...

... tell it like it is. Billboards are illegal here in Vermont, but just this once, I wish we could plant some in strategic places to get the attention of at least a few of the MAGA minions who might still be susceptible to the truth, may the scales fall from their eyes.
And kudos to Chris Quinn for his steadfastness in the face of demands for false equivalency.
I don't give a happy rat's ass if MAGAts are offended, poor babies. They CHOSE to believe demonstrably false narratives because it excuses their own inbred bigotry, so they can stuff it where the Sun don't shine. They're going to cause trouble no matter what happens, and people will die because of them, so they deserve ZERO accommodation.
The malevolent swine at the top of this rancid food chain have to be splattered all over the landscape – figuratively speaking, of course – their lies and evil schemes exposed, and their diseased belief system totally and ruthlessly discredited.
Nazi symbolism and ANY organized expressions of sympathy for fascism are illegal in Germany, and for good reason. Free speech here is NOT absolute, and treasonous acts – like launching an insurrection – regardless of the high station of those committing them, must be punished as harshly as possible. I'm looking at you, Empty Greene, Matt Gaetz, Gym Jordan, Ginny Thomas AND her best friend – aw fuck it – the whole goddamned Republican Party. You're all traitors in the foulest and most vile sense of the word. And Nazi symbolism and it repulsive accoutrements should be outlawed as hate speech, and dealt with again, as harshly as possible.
I will never apologize for hating the irredeemable proponents of evil.
I need a drink.

[Nevilledog]

23. ...

[c-rational]

24. Well said. K&R.

[kentuck]

25. Everybody holds back.

Nobody tells the whole truth.

Too much ambiguity.

[Hekate]

26. KnR

[love_katz]

28. Huge kick and recommend.

What never seems to get asked: exactly WHO benefits from getting people to believe disinformation and doubting their ability to think for themselves, and how much $$$ do the deceivers rake in from doing that. Thank you, Nevilledog, for this excellent link.

[oldsoftie]

42. Some of the conspiracy websites are actually run by liberals;

they're profiting off the fools who will click on ANYTHING they post. 60 Mins did a story on one of the guys & he showed how stupid they are.

Other than profit, the biggest "winners" are Putin & Xi

[Cha]

29. Right.. there are No

T“Alternative facts “.

TY!

[SouthernDem4ever]

32. So Ohio has a few people with common sense

Nice to knowl.

[NEOBuckeye]

34. We are around

Just seemingly outnumbered by the mouth-breathing crazies who for some reason think the Orange Turd is their savior. I have no idea why.

Kudos to Chris Quinn and the Cleveland PD for living up to its name.

[betsuni]

35. It makes me nervous how facts have been replaced by opinions and feelings and conspiracy theories.

[kentuck]

36. It's definitely a negative energy in the force field...

One that is alien to our present reality.

[AKwannabe]

38. My eyes

Did NOT deceive me On Jan 6, 2021

[orangecrush]

39. At LAST

At LONG FUCKING LAST

[Roy Rolling]

40. This

[ShazzieB]

41. I loved this piece.

I get the feeling there may be some who feel that he went too easy on the Trumpers, but I'm not bothered by that. No newspaper editor is going to pull out all the stops in an editorial in his paper and tell the MAGA cultists how awful they are. He needs to sell papers to stay in business, and you don't sell people stuff by telling them they're a bunch of hateful, idiotic fools.

So he addresses them courteously, while delivering a message they aren't going to like one bit. He tells them in no uncertain terms just how awful their idol is:

The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power.

*snip*

The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it.

Knowing how violent and vindictive some of those people are, I thought this piece was pretty damned courageous. The people this is addressed to live in a never never land where truth is subjective, and any information they don't like can be dismissed as "fake news" and countered with "alternative facts." A lot of them will do just that with this article, but a few might just possibly take some of it in. He might be able to plant a few seeds with this. I'm sure that's what he hopes will happen. I applaud him for at least trying.

[niyad]

43. Absolutely agree!

[niyad]

44. KNR with thanks!

[malaise]

46. Must read

Rec

[Alice Kramden]

51. K&R n/t

[Think. Again.]

52. K&R

[Joinfortmill]

53. Wow! Hope this practice spreads across the land.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

54. K&R

[azureblue]

56. it still amazes me

that people who saw 1/6 happen, who saw the vids, who read about the convictions, who read about the actions of the instigators, will still deny an attempted coup happened.
It is plain as day - Trump tried to overthrow the government by force. There is no parsing of it at all.

[ffr]

58. "No one in our newsroom gets up in the morning wanting to make a segment of readers feel bad."

..."But our duty is to the truth.

Our nation does seem to be slipping down the same slide that Germany did in the 1930s. Maybe the collapse of government in the hands of a madman is inevitable, given how the media landscape has been corrupted by partisans, as it was in 1930s Germany."

That's a clear shot at right-wing media. As I know many who will support Trump in the same way that some Germans supported Hitler or Russians and Americans who support Putin, when a segment of the population NEEDS to believe in lies to feel better about themselves, they'll switch to any form of media that feeds them what they need.