It can be said, that you can judge the degree of civilization and the state of development of a given nation by going online or purchasing a newspaper and simply having a look at the headlines in the press.
Generally speaking, negligence and incompetence are tragic in any profession, but misleading reporting and bad journalism can have irreversible damages which are dangerous to a divided nation, and it often shows it’s manipulative influence in opinion letters posted by the independent.
When everyone sticks to their jobs and duties and invests some heart into whatever it is they do, the system will work. And you are free in choosing your way of life, personally or professionally, because that’s what a democracy is all about, but the press is the fundamental pillar of a country. We need free and independent press to hold to account those in power.
However, I strongly believe that the news media has another important mission too: to educate society so that they question everything from a fair and unbiased perspective. Responsible and coherent journalism will also help governments work better. This can only be done by questioning everything they do and fact checking every single word and action.
The truth is incompetence and negligence by poor journalism have corrupted American society from top to bottom for decades, which sadly is evident by countless opinion letters posted by the independent.
I also realize that any attempt to somehow regulate or oversee the media is highly dangerous, in terms of human rights and the freedom of the press, but there should at least be some sort of a licensing procedure or supervision for journalists, because a better press is beneficial for all parties involved.
I usually condemn the Independent for posting opinion letters that are blatantly biased or outright false, but it’s unfair to “shoot the messenger,” especially when it’s obvious the level of ignorance, hate speech, lack of moral principles, outright lies and manipulation the poster has ingested.
Society these days seems to be doing everything for the sake of tribalism, political and cultural discourse and much of it is due to misinformation and misleading journalism, and something that is heartless and just horribly wrong.
