Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

Today:

Congressman Mark Alford
[August 12, 2024]
Restoring Trust in Journalism: The Need for Truth and Integrity in Media

Reflecting on my 35-year journey in the news industry, I can’t help but think of one of my heroes, Walter Cronkite. He was known for his integrity and trustworthiness—qualities essential in journalism. People trusted him to deliver the facts, even when they were uncomfortable to hear. You never quite knew where he stood on the issues; he reported the news objectively, like hitting a golf ball straight down the fairway.

But today, legacy media has lost its true north: telling the truth. The advent of cable news in the 1980s introduced a 24-hour news cycle, and with it came the need to fill endless airtime. In the pursuit of ratings, news channels began to prioritize the loudest and most strident voices, moving away from objective reporting and toward becoming part of the news themselves. This shift has led to a troubling trend where media outlets focus more on sensationalism than on delivering factual and unbiased information.

President Donald Trump famously called certain media outlets “fake news,” a term that, regardless of its political implications, pointed to a broader issue. Instead of staying objective, many news organizations got into a public battle with the President, further eroding public trust. This ongoing conflict has only deepened the divide, making people question the reliability of the news they consume.

As we face these challenging times, it’s crucial to remember the fundamental role of journalists: to tell the truth. The media plays a vital role in our democracy by holding those in power accountable. However, with this responsibility comes with the commitment to report the truth without bias.

Here’s a thought: What if journalists took an oath similar to the Hippocratic Oath in medicine? A commitment to do no harm, to tell the truth no matter what, and to serve the public with integrity. While the government cannot and should not mandate rules to the media due to First Amendment protections, a pledge like this could remind journalists of their duty to the public and help restore trust in the profession.

In the end, journalism should not be about picking sides or creating narratives; it should be about presenting facts and letting the truth speak for itself. Only then can the media hope to regain the trust of the American people.

This you, Mark (r)?:

‘It was always a fight’: Mark Alford was controversial inside Kansas City TV station [November 2, 2022]
[….]
Nearly all of the former colleagues who spoke to The Star described Alford as allowing his personal views to shade his presentation of the news. One former colleague said Alford had a tendency to “wear his politics on his sleeve when he was on the news desk.”
[….]

Some of the responses to Mark Alford’s social media post:

Agree FOX ” News” should have to change their name.

Heh.

How about you focus on the oath you took. Tell the truth, stop the lying, stop supporting those willing to shred the Constitution, stop lying.

So you are telling us that “Entertainment” is more accurate than truthful news?
Tell that to Fox and their lawsuit that lost as they admitting guilty to LIES!
Oh, wait! You are auditioning to get a job on those Entertainment platforms ,aren’t you??

And your body language, during this “interview” speaks for itself. You know you are lying and can’t look straight into the camera!!!!!

Start with yourself “do no harm” .

How about restoring trust in our elected officials. How about holding elected officials accountable for spreading lies and disinformation?

Ask Mark Alford (r) about the “Speech and Debate” clause.

If you wanted to fix the media, you should have stayed in it. You lecture on Sunday about not being negative. Today you say it is not about choosing sides. You have to be one of the biggest hypocrites on the planet.

Yet Trump puts out a fake news release, last week .he calls calling out fake news,every time he is called on his actions ,and lies he does not like that, yet at the same time any truth comes out , it is fake news or a witch hunt [….]

“I think being a liberal, in the true sense, is being nondoctrinaire, nondogmatic, non-committed to a cause – but examining each case on its merits. Being left of center is another thing; it’s a political position. I think most newspapermen by definition have to be liberal; if they’re not liberal, by my definition of it, then they can hardly be good newspapermen. If they’re preordained dogmatists for a cause, then they can’t be very good journalists; that is, if they carry it into their journalism.” Walter Cronkite 1973

Radical. Progressive. Woke. You use these regularly and then you think you are qualified to lecture people.

I think that if your media source gets sued for $787 million for lying then it isn’t a reliable media source..

Integrity and trustworthiness are two qualities you are severely lacking, Congressman Mark Alford . Cronkite would be disappointed.

Really??? I had to stop watching Fox 4 because you would editorialize almost every story. Thank goodness I can watch it again.

“Faux News channel, fascist groupies” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.