Bob Schieffer: ‘Buyer beware’ for news junkies
The scourge of fake news demands that you consume info with a critical eye, CBS veteran says.
Veteran reporter Bob Schieffer has a message for those seeking honest, objective news reporting in an era of exploding options, viewpoints, and levels of credibility: “Buyer beware.”
The longtime host of “Face the Nation,” who delivered pointed analysis of the presidential election last year on CBS News, explains: “It’s not only that you have to worry about bias. You now have to worry about information being absolutely false.”
The modern plague of fake news, which can spread virally to receptive audiences on the internet, underscores the value of—and need for—professional journalists trained to verify the credibility of information and veracity of sources before disseminating reports publicly, Schieffer says.
Case in point: The story circulating throughout the campaign featuring comments President Donald Trump allegedly made in People magazine in 1998: “If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re the dumbest group of voters in the country…I could lie and they’d still eat it up.”
“It was a really juicy story,” he says, “until you check into it and find out he never said that.”
continue reading »
Discussion