Four months ago, my dad asked how I thought Mr. Trump was doing as President.  I told him it was impossible to know because the only stories on real news outlets were, “he’s still breathing, how dare he still be breathing”.   TDS is real and I have been bored of it for more than a year.
 
Even though I am a conservative, I have never respected the supposedly conservative media.  In 1992 my boss at Charleston AFB, was talking about this radio personality that he thought was really funny.  So I tuned into the Rush Limbaugh show and was completely disgusted by his supposed jokes.  Here was a guy that spent three hours a day just mocking people.  Turns out that formula worked for him and later worked for Fox News.   I do not know how it is possible that so many so called “conservatives” gravitate to derision. 
 
On the other hand, most of the last 30 years I have respected CNN and relied on NPR for accurate and informative reporting.  Fox News was not around during the first gulf war or Sarajevo but their news broadcasts remind me of the intel reports we would get during those times.  I remember going in and getting a brief at Ramstein AFB.  At the end of the brief the Major told us, “that is what we are required to tell you, if you want to know what is actually going on, watch CNN.”
 
For the past twenty-five years, this country has suffered because one out of twenty stories the fake news outlets have posted turns out to be right[1].  Somehow conservatives use that 5% success rate to argue that we should not question the accuracy of the rest of their stories.  That is not conservatism.    
 
Recently, those inclined to turn on the pseudo conservative stations have coined another term, Trump Derangement Syndrome, TDS.   This time they have hit something that has frustrated me for a year and a half.  The President breathing is not a federal offense!  Johnny Carson was funny and often provided insight.  Colbert provokes the same rancid taste in my mouth as Rush.  This country started its downward spiral when so many people started watching Fox News.  Now that NPR employs the same bias there is nothing to slow down the free fall.   There was no honorable reason for these so called legitimate news organizations to give people that called for impeachment before Mr. Trump even to took office publicity.   These organizations showed that they were just like Fox News and either biased or willing to publish stupid/destructive thoughts for ratings and money.
 
My own experience and watching real news organizations exhibit TDS has me wondering if perhaps I should not be more kind to Fox News.  Perhaps they have had a better than 5% accuracy rate and it has always been the real news agencies that have been deceptive.
 
In the past week or so I have heard and seen some advertisements for the Dayton Daily News.  As you may know I was the Mayor of Huber Heights.  While I was the Mayor the DDN ran many stories like “Huber mayor’s wallet sparks investigation”.   The wallet they are referring to is the one you see to the left.  The only thing in it then is what you see now.  My mayor business cards.  What most likely happened was that I left the wallet in a jacket hanging in city hall and someone took it out of the pocket up to Carriages Trails for it to be “found”.  When the DDN ran the article, the picture they chose to run and the tone they chose to use were specifically used to try and make me look bad.  This negative bias against all the positive steps I was taking for the city seeped from pages of the DDN.  
 
The DDN had an infinite amount of space to publish the negative coverage I was receiving for things like protecting Bethel School District from losing tax revenues, advocating for accurate information when discussing tax levies, saving the city money on Public / Private ventures, but they never chose to publish the picture that showed the relationship between my rival on council and the person that for many years he helped get the city to award no bid contracts.  That is also the person he is sitting next to on this ride in Disney World.   
 
Why the difference in coverage between me and my rival?  I believe it boils down to a fact he once told me.  He has spent over $400,000 advertising his business.  Compare this to my goal of getting elected to congress without ever having taken a monetary campaign contribution.   
 
I am still an idealist.  I still believe we can do better with our tax dollars and our elected officials can make better decisions to help improve the quality of life of more of our citizens.  Today I have less trust in the willingness of the “real” press to contribute to that goal.  They are a business that runs articles to satisfy advertisers.   The DDN and WHIO have proven they are not aligned with the people as a partner in public service.  They are an additional hurdle to overcome in the quest for responsible government. 

Will my personal experience and the fact that the real news organizations continue to show a disgusting display of TDS convince me to vote for Mr. Trump in a couple years.  That is yet to be seen.  But I will concede that Fox News is right in their contention that the bias of real news agencies is toxic. 

 

Like many, I share your frustrations with CNN et al. CNN was my standby news source for years. It wasn't until the run up to the last presidential election that I realized how biased they were becoming, so I stopped watching/reading CNN news. I'm not sure how much our news outlets have changed or how quickly, but I now realize I need to be more discerning. Thanks for the discussion.