Perceived Truth

When opinion overwhelms the pursuit of truth

CBS anchor Scott Pelley said something profound at a 2013 speech at Quinnipiac University:

"These have been a bad few months for journalism (in regards to recent Boston bombings). We're getting the big stories wrong, over and over again. Democracies succeed or fail based on their journalism. America is strong because its journalism is strong. That's how democracies work. They're only as good as the quality of the information that the public possesses. And that is where we come in."

Op-eds are exactly where you would expect opinion to flourish, as it should. However actual news reporting should incorporate the events of the day while maintaining accuracy within a framework of unbiased reporting. Writers and reporters who are agenda driven wield their version of truth in order to convince their loyal audience towards a version of the facts as they perceive then....or wish them to be perceived. Scott Pelley admits this is occurring on a massive scale in our media cycles then and today. Was he thinking “fake news” perhaps? We must hold our media accountable if they indeed claim to be the administers of global information. We ask only that they give us all salient facts while simultaneously tucking their opinions in their back pockets. We require a nation of discerning thinkers, not intellectual clouds without water, drifting aimlessly about, kneeling to every woke emotional outburst.

For each of us, this should be a reminder to test all things we read, watch, or listen to in the media while holding fast and firm to the truth. The old cliche' "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is" remains a golden nugget of truth to this day. America is strong because she was founded on eternal Truth, not a continually redefined vocabulary. Our present generation needs desperately to undergird her foundation with a reliable, consistent source of truth, lest she become weak and her foundation turn into clay.

Test all things. Hold fast to the good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Jim