It's worth taking a moment to comment on what passes for journalism today. About a half hour ago, I happened to put on the radio in my car and I got The Joan Hamburg Show. Joan is someone who used to have a daily show for many years until it was cancelled for low ratings. Now, she has an hour on the weekend on WABC where she competes with doctors who use radiation to combat cancer, pharmacists who push vitamins and tonics, and diet clinics who claim to have the guaranteed answer for weight loss. Normally Joan has restaurant reviews or Broadway personalities. Today, however, she had someone she billed as a premier journalist. I didn't catch the woman's name, but it didn't matter. She has written a lengthy article about Ivanka Trump, her career and her relationship with her father. Joan Hamburg marveled at how complete the report was; the author had interviewed over 20 people. What got my attention, however, was the discussion of the "journalist's" suspicion that President Trump had molested his daughter. Joan Hamburg asked her about it. The "reporter" started by saying that there's no proof that the President ever molested his daughter, and none of the people she interviewed had ever heard even a hint of something like that happening. Of course, then the "journalist" said that if you look at the identity of the person that Ivanka married (Jared Kushner), you can see that he is very different from her father, and that is often a sign that the daughter had been molested by the father. Joan Hamburg and the "reporter" then shared a hearty laugh.
Think about that. A so-called journalist is reporting that she suspects the President of the United States molested his daughter even though there is no evidence that it happened and even though none of the many people she interviewed (who have known Ivanka and her father for a long, long time) had ever heard even a hint of that happening. And this gets broadcast? I know it was just the Joan Hamburg show, so there couldn't have been many people listening, but still it's disgusting to think that this sort of BS gets put on the air.
The so called reporter then went on to tell the listeners that President Trump was disappointed with his sons ever since they were three years old. Really? I've never met a father who was disappointed with his sons by age three. It's ridiculous. Of course, the reporter offered no evidence to back that claim up either.
It's too bad that our slander laws allow someone claiming to be a reporter to get away with BS like this. Here is this reporter broadcasting obviously false but also very hurtful things across metro New York. You have to wonder how many people hear this stuff and think that it is true.
Think about that. A so-called journalist is reporting that she suspects the President of the United States molested his daughter even though there is no evidence that it happened and even though none of the many people she interviewed (who have known Ivanka and her father for a long, long time) had ever heard even a hint of that happening. And this gets broadcast? I know it was just the Joan Hamburg show, so there couldn't have been many people listening, but still it's disgusting to think that this sort of BS gets put on the air.
The so called reporter then went on to tell the listeners that President Trump was disappointed with his sons ever since they were three years old. Really? I've never met a father who was disappointed with his sons by age three. It's ridiculous. Of course, the reporter offered no evidence to back that claim up either.
It's too bad that our slander laws allow someone claiming to be a reporter to get away with BS like this. Here is this reporter broadcasting obviously false but also very hurtful things across metro New York. You have to wonder how many people hear this stuff and think that it is true.
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