Misreporting

I have noticed reporting by major news organizations have increasingly played to the fear card. Sometimes this is subtle. Often not. Even among trusted newscasters like NBC Network News, Lester Holt, and others. Here’s an example of what I’m referring to.

Tuesday evening, June 22, 2021, Lester Holt led with the report on the nation missing Biden’s vaccination goal of 70%. That goal was to achieve vaccinations of at least 1 dose-shot among 70% of all adults by July 4^th. The report claims the goal will be missed. They went on to report what populations are shying away from vaccinations and why.

No where did they report what the vaccination rate is likely to be. No numbers.

I want to know if the vaccination rate will end up on July 4^th at 65% or 68%. My suspicion is it will land near 70%, perhaps 69% plus or minus a tiny factor.

Anything close to 69% is a win. The US started vaccinations at nearly zero when Biden came on board. Look what has been accomplished since then. And the numbers continue to increase, although the rate of increase is slowing. That is to be expected as the numbers base is large and growing. Percentage increases will continue to lessen as we near 100%, an unlikely number given the politicizing of this issue.

But that is my point. COVID-19 has been politicized from the beginning.

I am a strategic planner, have been for 40+ years. In my business we set goals, sometimes stretch goals to pull us toward where we really want to be by a certain timeline. A goal of 70% was a stretcher goal to be sure. If we make 69%, that is a near win worthy of celebration. If we achieve 65%, then it is “nice try,” keep going to 70% and beyond. The game is not over yet. Instead, the news report makes it seem like a dire failure.

If the report focuses on the 70% goal, then it is incumbent on the news report to say what the figure actually is at the moment and what it is likely to be by the due date. None of that was reported by Holt or NBC News. That is a failure of ethical journalism.

This sort of thing has been growing in the past year or two. It is time to call it out.

I firmly believe the facts should be reported and the audience should be encouraged to make up its own mind as to the value of those facts. It would be helpful if NBC would dig deeper in a special report of 15 minutes or longer on the details of the situation, not just monger fear.

I am shocked that Lester Holt went along with this. I have watched his career grow from local Chicago news to national prominence. I am proud of his professional achievement. Lately, however, he has become the mouthpiece of network news writers. They are doing a poor job. His spouting the words does not change the facts. Nor does it polish his ethical image.

June 25, 2021

PS: This posting was done on Sunday, not Friday. That is due to my computer being in the repair shop for three days. I will write and post a fresh blog item Monday morning.