POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

That our politics have become polarized is a self-evident truism, and the FOX News claim of “fair and balanced coverage” has become as much a catchphrase as an empty boast. As I looked at RealClearPolitics’ Top Stories daily newsletter for yesterday, Labor Day, I saw both of these truisms being illustrated, together and to concerning effect.

The article list places in stark relief the fact that what we have lost is not just the “moderate voices” in our politics and political commentary but the “moderating voices” in both arenas.

The problem with the “fair and balanced” premise is, of course, that stories at opposite ends of the opinion spectrum are not always of equal merit. In fact, more often than not, they probably are not of equal merit. But when every media source becomes associated with one end of the political spectrum or the other, the equivocation of all positions at both ends of the spectrum becomes compounded.

Trump has doubled-down on the longstanding Far-Right remonstrations about the “liberal media,” blurring the distinctions between pointedly progressive sources of news and opinion and what used to be regarded as non-partisan news sources. These used to include such as the weekly news magazines, nightly news broadcasts, CNN, and most large daily newspapers. Since most of these are commercial enterprises, it seems very unlikely that as the nation has veered increasingly Right over the last four decades, they have veered in the opposite direction.

It is noteworthy that Trump’s attacks on the media are wholesale and not rebuttals of specific factual errors or opinions marked by unacknowledged bias. In the Far-Right echo chamber, the “mainstream media” has gone from being full of “liberal bias” to being active purveyors of consistently false information.

 

In any case, here is the article list that prompted these reflections. I have omitted some items.

 

Trump Demonization of Media Is Dangerous

Dean Obeidallah, NBC News

vs.

WH at War With the Press, But Trump Didn’t Start It

Julie Mason, Houston Chronicle

 

For Labor Day, Trump Has Earned Workers’ Support

Gary Bauer, Washington Examiner

vs.

Trump’s Words Don’t Buy Dinner for Working Class

E.J. Dionne, Washington Post

 

Why Trump’s Average Approval Rating Is Going Up

Michael Graham, CBS News

vs.

Trump’s ‘Majority’ Is Fake

Juan Williams, The Hill

 

Today, Give Thanks for Workers Who Make America Great

Dallas Morning News

vs.

Labor Day 2038. Will You Have a Job or Be Replaced By a Robot?

Boston Globe

 

Labor Force Has Much to Like This Year

The Oklahoman

vs.

Why It’s an Unhappy Labor Day for Many Workers

Philadelphia Inquirer

 

Joe Biden: Master of Grief

Bill Scher, RealClearPolitics

vs.

Media Obituaries Didn’t Give Us ‘The Full McCain’

John Fund, National Review

 

 

Then there are these two curiosities that illustrate a growing phenomenon in media commentary. Moving in the opposite direction from restoring reliable moderating voices, these sorts of articles seem to posit that all ideological extremes are negated by a complexity of realities that render all categories and judgments equally suspect:

 

America Is Moving toward an Oligarchical Socialism

Joel Kotkin, OC Register

 

The Washington Gutter Oozes Everywhere

Charles Hurt, Washington Times