Why Population Really Disappeared from the News and Became Politically Incorrect!
- Kathleene Parker
- September 22, 2020
- Forum Papers
- Forum Paper
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An NPG Forum Paper
by Kathleene Parker
September 2020
In July, New York Times editor Bari Weiss published a scathing resignation letter to what she called a “once-great” newspaper, accusing the paper of choosing stories to “satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and to DRAW THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS.” (Emphasis mine.)
That she resigned in so public—and eloquent—a way is important, especially in the context of what is happening with media nationally and internationally, and that as a result, once-respected news sources are increasingly the target of public ire.
Media behavior in recent years has cost media—also known as the Fourth Estate—its most important asset: Public trust, that—as young journalists used to be taught—once lost, is rarely regained.
The media “problem” is very much the problem of those concerned about population and immigration as today’s media actively—and likely, not by accident— mislead and suppress full discussions of both topics, with media influence, I believe, instrumental in environmental groups today denying population’s dangers.
Thanks to deregulation, in ways that I’ll explain, we have become a nation that governs to that which media put forward and to the will of those who scream the loudest or posture most effectively for the T.V. cameras, rather than being a nation—the very premise upon which we were founded—of majority rule.
Media behavior, as I will explain, particularly their negative portrayals of those with concerns about immigration, is why immigration has been so emotionally charged since the 1990s that it has divided the nation at the deepest levels. This is in marked contrast to 100 years ago when the nation slashed immigration drastically (to levels we need to attain again) within the normal, calm processes of our democratic system.
Weiss’ blistering indictment of the New York Times and other media is important because until we somehow reform the Fourth Estate, population activists, immigrationreduction activists and those concerned about the environment at deep, causal levels are going to be denied our ability—our RIGHT in a democracy—to be heard and our message respected. The denial of that right— ironically and unacceptably—is driven by those whose duty, by all standards of journalism, should be to expedite and encourage the dissemination of ALL information, rather than what they are doing—in violation of all ethics of journalism—suppressing or distorting to their own ends… Continue reading the full Forum paper by clicking here.
Journalist Kathleene Parker grew up in Durango, Colorado, and is a native of the American Southwest, where her family has lived since 1862. She edited and wrote on energy and environmental topics for a Denver Public Library publication that was circulated to eight states, and more recently, covered Los Alamos National Laboratory and northern New Mexico environmental and timber issues for two major New Mexico dailies. She lives just outside Albuquerque and writes nationally on timber, wildfire, water and population issues, and is an outspoken activist for immigration reduction.