Fair and balanced reporting?

I have long had concerns about the way we are informed by the main stream media. It now seems more important than ever that we should address that issue and demand better. If we are to remain informed and involved then this is essential. It is essential to counter the "news" of social media.

"How to verify information involving the war in Ukraine, according to fact checkers and experts" reads the message on my Twitter feed. Good? It's a start I suppose. There is a lot more to it than that.

But let's start with something else instead. We have an election coming up in this state. Polling day is Saturday. The Opposition is expecting to win. They claim, as they always do, that they are the underdogs and that it will be a "tight" race. 

Our state newspaper has of course been covering the election campaign. They claim the coverage is "fair and balanced" but is it really? We have no way of knowing most of the time. 

Yesterday there was an article by a senior and very experienced reporter claiming that the Premier had broken one of those arcane laws surrounding our elections. This one concerned members of parliament not being able to stand within six metres of a polling booth. There was the photograph of the Premier standing just next to the porch which leads into the polling booth I attended the other day. Caught! The Premier was breaking the law! The Opposition was delighted. The photograph was incontrovertible proof the Premier had broken the law. The head line suggested that was the case...even the article tried to suggest it.

In reality however? 

Someone I know and trust - and someone I know to be a member of the Opposition's party - admitted to me that there was no "altercation" between the Premier and a staff member from the Election Commission. "Made a good story Cat but it didn't happen."

Now I was not there. I don't know what actually happened. What I do know is that I have been told two different things. Whom do I believe?  

"But there is a photograph!" you tell me.

Yes, there is. Now I know the building. My guess is that between the porch door  and the entrance to the actual polling booth there would be at least six metres. That is the distance that counts. The photograph shows the Premier outside the porch door. But why spoil a good story?     

The problem with all this is that the story was written by a senior and very experienced journalist. He has written it in a way that strongly suggests the Premier has broken the law. And that is what most people will accept as being the case. Is this "fair and balanced" reporting.

There has been an increasing tendency for journalists to enter the political arena. Some have even used their roles as journalists to enter politics proper. That must surely raise questions about their ability to report stories accurately and without bias. It may not be conscious - although I suspect it often is - but it will be there. This is why I try to get my news from a variety of sources...something becoming increasingly difficult in itself. 

Is it any wonder though that people rely on even more dubious sources in social media to get the news they want to hear?