Beliefs and Truths are Not the Same
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” – Thomas Jefferson
I recently read an editorial from Rob Curley, the editor of the Spokesman-Review in Washington, about “fake news.” Curley recounted that, for many of us, the first examples of “fake news” were the crazy, oddly shaped tabloids we saw next to the candy and gum in the checkout lane at the local grocery store. You know, the newspapers with the fantastic, often salacious, headlines.
Then in school, we’d learn about history and the use of propaganda, or fake news, to persuade citizen’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.
For most people of a certain age, Curley said these are the first examples we remember of being told something less than honest was being sold as the truth. This is when most of us began to understand what “fake news” really was.
Today, however, we hear the phrase all the time, but it has been turned into something seemingly charged and political, whether what is being reported is factual or not.
When we print a story about a road closing for construction, that’s true. When we say Newbury Schools are closing and the district is merging with West Geauga Schools, we all know it’s true . . . even if we don’t want either to be true. If we run a story that says the Chardon Hilltoppers scored 28 points and beat Mayfield by 14 points, we know that’s true.
As for politicians, there is a long history of our elected leaders trying to discredit the media. Thomas Jefferson once said, in 1807, “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.”
But Jefferson also understood more than most the role journalism plays in a well-informed democracy.
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,” he wrote.
Democracy isn’t easy. It takes effort by “we the people.”
Over the years, it has become obvious that some of our readers don’t want to believe the stories put into our newspaper. Or, they think we have a political agenda. If we publish a story that reflects negatively on a Republican, we are a liberal rag. If there is a parade and we don’t take enough photographs of Democratic candidates, we are a right-wing rag. I get it.
We recently published a story from a county commissioners meeting where Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri expressed opinions regarding the destruction of war monuments in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. Commissioner Spidalieri blamed us for the coverage and suggested our reporter should have helped him explain what he really meant with follow up questions. He also denied saying some of the things we reported.
Some followers called our newspaper “garbage,” “unreadable” and a “liberal rag” on social media for publishing the story. At first, I was angered. Then, I began to wonder if our reporter got all or part of the story incorrect. I talked with the reporter and listened to audio from the commissioners meeting. I also called several people, including other elected county officials, who were at the meeting to make sure what we reported was correct.
I learned nothing was wrong in the story. All of it was true. That’s when I returned to my initial instinct and got angry. This is called gaslighting.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person or a group covertly sows seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or group, making them question their own memory, perception or judgment. Using denial and misinformation can often make people begin to believe something that is simply not true.
None of this is being said to try and tell anyone, including the commissioner or our readers, that what they believe is wrong. But beliefs and truths aren’t the same. The truth is based on facts. The truth is Commissioner Spidalieri was quoted correctly; he said what he said, including things he denied saying.
But finding his comments newsworthy and reporting on them should not imply, infer or suggest that his beliefs are wrong or that the Maple Leaf is a polluted vehicle for accurately reporting on them. Commissioner Spidalieri is entitled to his beliefs and I, for one, don’t disagree with some of them. Anarchy and lawlessness are threats to our republic . . . but I digress.
I can speak for everyone at the Maple Leaf that there isn’t a single instance when we have knowingly published something wrong. When we have made mistakes, we have corrected them. Because the truth matters. None of us want something that is incorrect to go out to our readers.
It bothers me when people disparage our newspaper and the work of our dedicated reporters. However, I find solace in knowing we are “real news” — regardless of some people’s beliefs.
