by Robert M. Traxler

Let’s talk about the good old Townbroadcast and the division we find in our nation.

The rise of electronic media has resulted in designer news, which is spun, slanted, exaggerated and in many cases out-and-out lying in coverage to court an audience of readers. Years ago, a debate raged over the rise of television media; were the news people on ABC, NBC or CBS real news people or just actors reading the news off a script? Print media was real news, radio and television were not.

Currently, print is dead, it just has not realized it yet. With the advent of designer news, objectivity goes out the window. Years ago, a member of the New York side of our family told me to read Mother Jones because it’s the fairest and most balanced news source; in his mind it was. Mother Jones is radically far left, but to him it was fair; fairness and balance means agreeing with you 90 percent of the time.

At the hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, a woman named Zina Bash was sitting behind the nominee and resting her hand on her leg, her thumb and forefinger were touching, and two fingers were showing the little finger out of sight behind her leg. The Internet went nuts with thousands of comments and “real” news stories saying she was flashing a white supremacist sign.

Ms. Bash is Hispanic on her mother’s side and Jewish on her father’s side; the shortest list in the world is Jewish Hispanics who are members of white supremacist groups. This is a good example of designer news; reporters in the past would have taken a few seconds and done a cursory investigation and not reported such a dumb story, but in the designer news environment it is acceptable and even rewarded.

The good folks who comment on Townbroadcast are outraged that FOX News exists, because they spin news in favor of the right, Republicans and conservatives — no argument from me on that. NBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, CNBC, PBS and many more spin the news to be anti-President Trump and for years (even before President Trump) have been anti-Republican and anti-conservative. If you agree with more than 90 percent of a news outlet’s reporting, it is spun, slanted and partisan; no balanced news source will have folks always agreeing.

The Townbroadcast has a facade of objectivity; it has two conservative columnists — good for them — two of many is better than the vast majority of publications with far-left editorial content. Conservatives are monitored (a polite way to say censored), and liberals are rarely “monitored.” Please do not misunderstand me; this publication makes the attempt to be balanced in its reporting, a rare thing in today’s media environment.

The folks who read this paper are for the most part liberals looking to affirm their hatred of President Trump and our nation, the flag and anyone deemed not politically correct. Most of the folks who comment are radically left, OK I get that. It is fine they ramble on expressing hate for those of us with whom they do not agree, fine. In my last few columns two folks wrote comments about my military career that were just out-and-out lies, damned lies; they feel empowered because Townbroadcast is a left-wing publication, and how dare a person not in the Socialist camp write for it?

A person who commented referring to himself by the alias Couchman, confronted with his lie, waxed for around thousand words on how despicable President Trump is and how horrible I am because I watch FOX News (how he knows that is anyone’s guess), but he never answered the basic question as to why he lied when he said: “The author has stated he had a high-level security clearance and that it was needed because he was in charge of nuclear weapons security and inventory.” I never said it; ever when confronted with the lie, he stated “I make no apologies or back down from my opinions regarding President Donald Trump’s pettiness and what former President Jimmy Carter described as his “Carelessness with the truth.”

What? In Mr. Couchman’s universe if you attack President Trump or anyone who agrees with him, lying is noble, it is acceptable and honorable.

After four requests for him to admit his lie he did. Thank you kindly, Mr. Couchman, feel good to do the correct thing?

10 Comments

Harry Smit
September 6, 2018
Army Bob One of the few articles penned by you that I agree with .....hardly ever agree with all you say....but with this one I can't disagree.
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Peggy E. Otto(Mercurio)
September 6, 2018
Thank you, Bob for a very well written and very true article. I thank you, also, for your service to your country.
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Robert M Traxler
September 7, 2018
Ms. Otto, Peggy, Thank you, coming from you it means a lot. We all need to thank you for your service to the community, we are all better off because of your dedication.
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Robert M Traxler
September 7, 2018
Mr.Smit, Thank you for the comment. Thank you for taking part in the debate.
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Couchman
September 7, 2018
I’ve never written nor read any comment in this publication that stated Fox News shouldn’t exist. That would be a violation of the First Amendment, which was written when the news was spread by printed page and word of mouth. Media evolves from monthly and weekly printed pages to the daily paper when printing technology. Now digital media is displacing print and the surviving newspapers have content the public will buy and websites that work. The states ratified The Bill of Rights in December 1791 and it still applies in the era of digital media of all kinds. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." I believe everyone should be getting news from multiple sources. In my case, it’s The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, NPR, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, GR Press, The Guardian, BBC, CBC and the digital TownBroadcast for local issues since The Advance papers bought the Penasee Globe and homogenized it. I also believe we are in deep trouble if the executive branch continually attacks the media and promotes the idea of fake news any time media reports things with which our current President disagrees. On multiple occasions I read and heard the President say he couldn’t stop children being separated from their parent or adult accompanying them as they crossed the border because that was Justice Department policy and he needed Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration policy to stop the practice. Then with a stroke of a pen after Congress wouldn’t rush through legislation, President Trump issued an executive order to stop the practice. That begs the question: Why did the President say it couldn’t be done without Congress and then it was done without Congress by issuing an executive order? Was that a result of the President getting bad information? Was he confused? Was he trying to bully Congress into faster action? That’s a situation the media needs to cover. I have read reports and heard the President talk about millions of illegal votes and voter fraud on a massive scale in the 2016 election. (That he won) It was a serious charge. So serious the President appointed a commission to investigate voter fraud. It disbanded on Aug. 3, 2018, with no voter fraud found after looking at more than 8,000 documents. If the media reported the President’s claims and his creating a commission to investigate the alleged fraud, is it unfair for the media to report the committee was disbanded after it couldn’t substantiate claims of fraud? Secret hand signals at U.S. Senate hearing for a judge nominated to join the SCOTUS? Right up there with some media claiming a Washington DC pizza joint was ground zero for a child trafficking ring being run by people associated with a presidential candidate. I know the country is safer when we have accurate reporting on what the President says and what he tweets. I can’t get my head around the fact we have a Republican President, Republican majorities in the House and Senate, a Republican governor with Republican majorities in both state houses, yet self-identified conservatives continue to act like they are underdogs. If the media was an effective enemy of Republicans and conservatives, none of those political realities would exist. Lastly, I have apologized in writing in this public forum to Army Bob for misinterpreting his military security clearance and concluding he was involved with guarding our country’s nuclear arsenal. It was not an intentional act to besmirch his service, regardless of how it was interpreted. That doesn’t change my belief that everyone who has been in government with high level security clearances should be treated as resources and we need to protect a free press. And so it goes...
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Robert M Traxler
September 8, 2018
Mr. Couchman, Sir, Your words, “I believe everyone should be getting news from multiple sources. In my case, it’s The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, NPR, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, GR Press, The Guardian, BBC, CBC and the digital TownBroadcast for local issues since The Advance papers bought the Penasee Globe and homogenized it. I also believe we are in deep trouble if the executive branch continually attacks the media and promotes the idea of fake news any time media reports things with which our current President disagrees.” Please look up President Obama and the things he said concerning FOX News and those who view it. Perhaps a news source that is not left of center may give you a wider view of the world? Probably better to say there were no “wide spread” cases of voter fraud as the Washington Post reported. Moving here from the Chicago area there is always voter fraud, many elections have more Democrat votes than there are total people in the precinct but they never prosecute so it is ”not proven”. At a high school I worked with flyers were passed out in Spanish telling folks to vote even if not registered or legal residents and how to do it. Google voter fraud in the 2016 election and you will find examples. You wrote, “The states ratified The Bill of Rights in December 1791 and it still applies in the era of digital media of all kinds.” If I am not mistaken the Second Amendment still applies in an era of different types of weapons as the first does in the digital era and different types of media. If the First is absolute so is the Second. Your words "That doesn’t change my belief that everyone who has been in government with high level security clearances should be treated as resources and we need to protect a free press." So everyone gets to retain a clearance and tell the press every Top Secret fact they know? Or am I miss reading this? Brennan can talk with the press his first amendment rights are still in effect he just can't do it with a clearance. Remain interested in your Navy combat experience it would be interesting to research. Thank you for your service. Thank you once again for your gracious apology it is appreciated and accepted. Thank you kindly for the comment.
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Robert M Traxler
September 10, 2018
Mr. Couchman, Sir, The opening sentence in your comment “I’ve never written nor read any comment in this publication that stated Fox News shouldn’t exist.” Once again you are misquoting my words. I stated they were outraged Fox News even exists, not they said it should not exist. A large difference between the two, I am angry MSNBC exists that is one thing but saying MSNBC shouldn’t exist is something different. People are using your incorrect quote of my words. It must be getting old stating things that are not true. Please be more careful, thank you kindly.
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Lynn Mandaville
September 8, 2018
One man's trash is another man's treasure. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Blah, blah, blah. I never thought of Townbroadcast as a left-leaning publication. In fact, I rather thought the editor went out of his way to avoid any bias other than his clearly labeled editorials. I often wondered why he asked me to write for him, since I believe his readership to be a largely conservative one. After all, as the old joke goes, the Democratic Party of Allegan County could hold its caucus at a kitchen table. Why would Mr. Young want a flaming liberal to contribute, especially when her readership seems to be so small compared to other contributors? Each of us who writes a column ought to have a thick skin. Readers will misunderstand us, accuse us of things that aren't true, and belittle our intelligence or education because they disagree with us. That is the basis for debate, and, if we are conscientious, understanding and unity. Mr. Traxler seems to feel that he is singled out moreso by ultra-liberal commenters than perhaps the left-leaning writers are by the ultra-right. I have felt the opposite. Personal perceptions fueled by our sensitive natures. Commenters will sometimes, go off on tangents, because the columnist has sparked critical thinking in his readers that prompts expression. This is a good thing! (Casting unfounded, personal aspersions against the columnist is something else.) If I do nothing more than make a person think, I have succeeded in my writing. Agree or don't, but please think. To keep our republic great we need the give and take inspired by differing opinions. We also need civility and smaller egos. I'll sacrifice my ego any day for the free exchange of ideas.
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Robert M Traxler
September 8, 2018
Ms. Mandaville, Thank you for the comment. Hope things have cooled off a bit and you can enjoy some outside activities more. Your words,"One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Blah, blah, blah". The point is as a progressive person you would feel this esteemed publication was not left of center, the point I was trying to make. As a liberal person you would not consider this a left of center publication as a number of people will not consider MSNBC left. Many folks would not consider FOX right. Your point " Each of us who writes a column ought to have a thick skin". Perhaps saying take your bleeping second amendment and stick it up your bleep may of been a time when you forgot the "thick skin"? Enjoy the best part of the year in the great American South West a great place to be. Thank you for the comment.
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Lynn Mandaville`
September 9, 2018
Mr. Bob, a perfect example of my temper getting the better of me! I had a lot of anger for the school shootings when I wrote that one. I'm a work in progress, so often when I say things like the "thick skin" thing I'm preaching to myself. As with the "blah blah blah" "eye of the beholder" crack. It's often difficult to put oneself in another's head when it comes to perspective, so I get your point about perceiving MSNBC as left -leaning (which it tends toward, no doubt). It is not getting cooler out here yet, but monsoon season is winding down. I've got big plans for getting outdoors again. Hope you are also getting ready to enjoy what I always thought was the best time of year in MI, autumn. The trees will be turning soon! Thanks for the give and take.
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