In the business world, if you lie on your resume it is a firing offense. Relationships are built on trust. While many elected officials are trustworthy, many are not -- and if we elect them with the knowledge that they are liars, why would we be surprised when they lie again? Thanks for the column and illustrating that journalism has a role in uncovering dishonesty as well as celebrating accomplishments.
Exactly. The bar should be higher for political office than it is in the workforce, not lower. Quite a commentary on our political system these days. Santos would be gone in a heartbeat from any other job.
Thanks for this important message in another great column, Dave. Iowa is not free of shenanigans that stretch credibility, though George Santos’ lies are whoppers! Thanks to Laura Belin, we now know that incumbent Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks changed her home address to a friend’s home in the newly configured district she represents, at the last possible hour on the final date allowed and close to Election Day. Local media informed us about Iowa Senator Jack Whitver’s suspicious second address, again a decision made to conform to the newly configured district boundaries. Gratefully, local media also informed us of the integrity demonstrated by State Senator Sarah Trone-Garriott when she moved with her husband and two young children to her newly formed district; voters returned her to the Iowa Senate in November. Then again, I’m still scratching my head about how Iowa’s political landscape has changed. Regardless, I share your wonder about how Santos can look himself in the mirror with these “exaggerations”, as he called them.
What's so special about Dave's recent essay--praising media when it does its job and for showcasing smaller print outlets. Along with Art Cullen's and other work defending the need to revive and resurrect local and independent media, it reminds us of the need and value for independent media. It seems like we have to convince people to re-think the value of old school ways of learning what is happening in the outside world. It is almost a 'back to the future' moment, with explaining the value of old school journalism, including small market media. I get it that many people are sidetracked from absorbing what is important and real news, when they are saturated with social media sites, fake news, and political propaganda.
Thank you Dave. I hope journalism schools follow your substack, along with others in the Writers Collaborative.
Ralph, I appreciate your support and your input! As a state, we’ve lost what the Register always gave us - facts we needed to know to address problems, a statewide perspective, and a variety of opinions about those facts. Not the Register’s fault. Times changed. But reliable journalism is important. When journalists fail, and citizens don’t read, people like George Santos float to the surface. We are poorer for it.
Times changed. Without the shared trust in a statewide paper, we go into 'our respective corners' for our news. The Writer's Collaborative and multitude of substacks and blogs does provide context and share understanding for current events. In a way, that is what FoxNews and Tucker provides, too--they provide context (misguided as it is) and facts (fake news, at times) and reinforcement for true believer. I don't know how to influence Iowans to try out non FoxNews sources. Bleeding Heartland or Iowa Capitol Dispatch are two other examples of reliable journalism-if I can get other's attention away from Tucker.
Yes, the media missed the boat on the George Santos case. And they certainly deserve the blame for not pursuing this story more aggressively. But the voters reelected him to the House of Representatives whether they knew about his lies or not. Historically, we’ve seen many politicians whose negative behavior was well documented. Yet, voters chose to return them to office. We journalists can hope that our jobs do alert the public to wrongdoings of government officials—both elected and appointed. But if residents don’t care, there is little more we can do.
Thanks for this, Dave. This does feel like a big warning for what happens through the constant destabilizing and discrediting of media. Fewer Americans--even other journalists--bother to, or have the bandwidth, to pay attention when local journalists raise red flags.
In the business world, if you lie on your resume it is a firing offense. Relationships are built on trust. While many elected officials are trustworthy, many are not -- and if we elect them with the knowledge that they are liars, why would we be surprised when they lie again? Thanks for the column and illustrating that journalism has a role in uncovering dishonesty as well as celebrating accomplishments.
Exactly. The bar should be higher for political office than it is in the workforce, not lower. Quite a commentary on our political system these days. Santos would be gone in a heartbeat from any other job.
Thanks for this important message in another great column, Dave. Iowa is not free of shenanigans that stretch credibility, though George Santos’ lies are whoppers! Thanks to Laura Belin, we now know that incumbent Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks changed her home address to a friend’s home in the newly configured district she represents, at the last possible hour on the final date allowed and close to Election Day. Local media informed us about Iowa Senator Jack Whitver’s suspicious second address, again a decision made to conform to the newly configured district boundaries. Gratefully, local media also informed us of the integrity demonstrated by State Senator Sarah Trone-Garriott when she moved with her husband and two young children to her newly formed district; voters returned her to the Iowa Senate in November. Then again, I’m still scratching my head about how Iowa’s political landscape has changed. Regardless, I share your wonder about how Santos can look himself in the mirror with these “exaggerations”, as he called them.
What's so special about Dave's recent essay--praising media when it does its job and for showcasing smaller print outlets. Along with Art Cullen's and other work defending the need to revive and resurrect local and independent media, it reminds us of the need and value for independent media. It seems like we have to convince people to re-think the value of old school ways of learning what is happening in the outside world. It is almost a 'back to the future' moment, with explaining the value of old school journalism, including small market media. I get it that many people are sidetracked from absorbing what is important and real news, when they are saturated with social media sites, fake news, and political propaganda.
Thank you Dave. I hope journalism schools follow your substack, along with others in the Writers Collaborative.
Ralph, I appreciate your support and your input! As a state, we’ve lost what the Register always gave us - facts we needed to know to address problems, a statewide perspective, and a variety of opinions about those facts. Not the Register’s fault. Times changed. But reliable journalism is important. When journalists fail, and citizens don’t read, people like George Santos float to the surface. We are poorer for it.
Times changed. Without the shared trust in a statewide paper, we go into 'our respective corners' for our news. The Writer's Collaborative and multitude of substacks and blogs does provide context and share understanding for current events. In a way, that is what FoxNews and Tucker provides, too--they provide context (misguided as it is) and facts (fake news, at times) and reinforcement for true believer. I don't know how to influence Iowans to try out non FoxNews sources. Bleeding Heartland or Iowa Capitol Dispatch are two other examples of reliable journalism-if I can get other's attention away from Tucker.
Yes, the media missed the boat on the George Santos case. And they certainly deserve the blame for not pursuing this story more aggressively. But the voters reelected him to the House of Representatives whether they knew about his lies or not. Historically, we’ve seen many politicians whose negative behavior was well documented. Yet, voters chose to return them to office. We journalists can hope that our jobs do alert the public to wrongdoings of government officials—both elected and appointed. But if residents don’t care, there is little more we can do.
Thanks for this, Dave. This does feel like a big warning for what happens through the constant destabilizing and discrediting of media. Fewer Americans--even other journalists--bother to, or have the bandwidth, to pay attention when local journalists raise red flags.