Robert MacCulloch
Robert MacCulloch is a native of New Zealand and worked at the Reserve Bank of NZ before he travelled to the UK to complete a PhD in Economics at Oxford University.
What’s gone wrong with NZ’s mainstream media? How did our journalists become so bad; so bigoted?
After Trump’s election victory, even US outlets like the New York Times, which have not traditionally sided with him, are re-evaluating. Its journalists are now arguing that since such huge numbers of Americans supported him (the Republicans won the popular vote, Electoral College, Senate and will probably win Congress), his values and beliefs must be recognized as representing the values and beliefs of Americans, at least a significant, clear majority of them.
The New York Times notes, “In her closing rally Kamala Harris scorned Trump as an outlier who did not represent America. ‘That is not who we are,’ she declared. ‘In fact, it turns out, that may be exactly who we are. At least most of us.’” Whether it is CNN or the New York Times, there’s acceptance that President-elect Trump must now be recognized as representing ground-swell opinion in America and should not be subject to continued (character) assassinations by journalists with agendas.
The NZ mainstream media, however, is having none of it. It relentlessly attacks Trump, even after his comprehensive win. Consequently, its attacks must now be taken as attacks on the people of the United States. He’s a reflection of them, of their hopes and aspirations, of their American dreams, of who are they are, of their values and beliefs. As such, our Big Media’s ongoing evisceration of Trump constitutes nothing less than racist and sexist attacks on Black Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, on American women – for he could not have won without them turning out for him in numbers sufficiently large so as to swing the election against Harris.
Who does Newsroom wield out to do analysis? A chap from Otago University who says Trump “ran a campaign that was openly racist, sexist and xenophobic”. Why doesn’t Newsroom just come out with it, replacing the word Trump with Americans, and label Americans “racist, sexist and xenophobic”.
Meanwhile, one of the Herald’s writers, reacting to Sir John Key’s prediction that Trump would probably win, wrote “Let’s not forget we’re talking about – an unabashed racist, a deeply misogynist, erratic, vengeful, narcissistic bully. A convicted criminal.” Why doesn’t the Herald also come out with it and stick those labels on Americans in general? Not to be outdone, Stuff reported a few years ago, “Donald Trump ‘most racist US president’ since Woodrow Wilson.”
Sure, these outlets can write what they like in the name of free speech, but what about publishing articles with different views? Kiwis have had enough of our mainstream media labelling any of us who take a different view from its own journalists – who differ from their opinions – as garbage. Maybe it’s our Big Media outlets that are the racists, since they seem to dislike entire races of people – not only the personalities of their leaders – as this US election has revealed.
Sources:
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/11/08/robert-patman-nz-shouldnt-be-afraid-to-call-trump-out/
This article was originally published by Down to Earth Kiwi.
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