Age of the Geek

Truth, Justice, and the American Media
 
     People can be distrustful of the media.
     I don’t blame them. Agenda-driven media has become the rule, rather than the exception. Sensationalism is more profitable than context and objectivity is a unicorn that some outlets don’t even pretend to strive for anymore.
     If that seems depressing to you, imagine how I feel.
     I often explain my philosophy as this, “If you don’t trust me, I don’t get paid.” Technically speaking that’s not entirely accurate, there are a lot of steps in between, but as a generalization the basic idea is true. The trust of others is my most valuable professional resource.
     Without trust, not only do I not have readers, I don’t have sources to give me things to write about. I am honest in my professional life and I continue that practice in my personal life.
     This doesn’t always work out in my favor. You’d be amazed how many social situations not only encourage, but expect dishonesty. Not to mention how much money you can save on stuff if you’re not immediately up front with people. I’m a terrible haggler.
     So occasionally I make things awkward or spend money I didn’t need to because in my profession, honesty really is the best policy. I have to hold myself to a high standard, because if I don’t, somebody else will.
     Just look at Brian Williams.
     In 2003, Williams was in Iraq and came across a helicopter that had been shot down during his travels. In 2013, Williams told the story to David Letterman, transposing himself into the downed aircraft. This tale continued to evolve until recently, when Williams was finally called out.
     Were this nearly any other person, this would not be a big deal. Williams is far from the only person to return from a warzone with an embellished story. So Williams spruced up his Iraq experience. It happens.
     I heard somebody once say there were WMDs in Iraq. I think his name was Shrub, or Hedge, or something like that. Now that’s an embellishment that should have resulted in serious consequences.
     It’s hard to say if the embellishment was even intentional. Memory is a tricky thing. Like the fish that got away, it’s easy to imagine how “the helicopter in front of me” became “the helicopter I was in” over the span of a decade.
     It happens to everybody in one form or another. For years I had convinced myself that I snuck into a crocodile pit during a fieldtrip to the zoo when I was in preschool. It didn’t happen, at least I’m pretty sure it didn’t happen, but that didn’t make it seem any less real in my imagination.
     I don’t see any malice in Williams’ story. It doesn’t make sense to risk your reputation and career for a mildly interesting anecdote to share on a late night talk show.
     Unfortunately for Williams, it doesn’t really matter if he intentionally misled people or not. He gets paid $13 million a year to be trustworthy, and when that happens you don’t get a pass when you tell a tall tale, whether you believe it or not. Williams’ credibility now has a hole larger than the one in the helicopter he wasn’t on. Every story he’s ever done now comes under question. He’s thrown his network into chaos. He may even resign over this.
     That’s how important trust is in this business.
     Does Williams deserve all the grief he’s getting? I’m of two minds on the matter.
     On the one hand, he’s only human. It’s not like he’s made a career out of this story. He’s not getting rich off of his fake helicopter experience.
     Should this one error invalidate an otherwise stellar career?
     On the other hand, he’s lost the trust of his viewers. Whether deserved or not, his credibility is suspect. That’s a problem and it’s going to be hard, if not impossible, to fix.
 
     Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and didn’t jump in a crocodile pit, but did swim uncomfortably close to alligators on a camping trip once. Ask him the story!