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kentuck

(112,893 posts)
Thu Nov 1, 2018, 06:11 AM Nov 2018

The challenge of how best to report on a "demagogue"?

A dictionary definition from Google:

"dem·a·gogue
/ˈdeməˌɡäɡ/
noun
noun: demagogue; plural noun: demagogues

a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.
synonyms: rabble-rouser, agitator, political agitator, soapbox orator, firebrand, fomenter, provocateur
"he was drawn into a circle of campus demagogues"
(in ancient Greece and Rome) a leader or orator who espoused the cause of the common people."

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The media, including newspapers, have a difficult time - just like most citizens - in trying not to react to everything the demagogue is capable of doing. It is a challenge.

Someone has to be the arbiter of truth. Would you prefer the demagogue or would you prefer the newspapers? That is a simple question.

In psychology, there is a graph that shows an arc on a chart, and behavior that is within the arc is considered "normal". Behavior outside the arc is considered "not normal". The media, and most of America, are accustomed to a "reality" within the "normal" arc. A demagogue is not within the "normal" arc.

That is the first lesson a reporter should understand. This is not "normal" behavior coming from our leaders. That is the premise to begin with.

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The challenge of how best to report on a "demagogue"? (Original Post) kentuck Nov 2018 OP
It's sort of like a car wreck by the side of the road. kentuck Nov 2018 #1

kentuck

(112,893 posts)
1. It's sort of like a car wreck by the side of the road.
Thu Nov 1, 2018, 08:39 AM
Nov 2018

It's not a common occurrence but we just have to look... But, eventually, we have to move on down the road.

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