The Real Story

The main problem with the news business in America starts with its definition. 

We believe that the news is what is *new*. That is obvious and hardly worth comment until you think of the implications.

Naturally, we all want to know what's new. What's new in the world, what's new down at the corner, what's new with those we care about. Some might call that gossip.

But by focusing our journalistic talent almost exclusively on the latest developments, our media industry largely ignores the far bigger stories, which are mainly about what is old.

Poverty is old. Racism is old. Sexism is old. The awful and endless disparity in opportunity is old. Access to education, health care, safety, security, even access to food is an old, old story.

Furthermore, way too much of our standard news coverage focuses on the way things do not work. Whenever there is a breakdown of one system or another, that becomes news. Fires, accidents, losses, disasters and any kind of other anomaly is considered to be news.

To counter this problem at the Center for Investigative Reporting we used to have a saying that we weren't so interested in how things *don't* work. Rather, we were more interested in how things *do* work (*). 

What we meant by that was our focus on was how power is actually exercised in the world day to day -- politically, economically, socially, culturally.

Our mission largely rested on the idea that the worst forms of corruption are those so entrenched systemically in business as usual as to be virtually impossible to root out.

These are problems like internalized racism or structural inequality, historical sexism or unconscious bias of any kind.

These are not anomalies, these are the norm.

So that is why we need investigative reporters -- people who not only think outside of the box, but who can remain far enough outside of the box to see it for what it is:

A system of entrenched, corrupt power exercised by the few over the many. A system that is rigged. A system so completely at odds with the Constitution of the United States of America that except for little glimmers of hope now and then, it systematically ruins millions of lives in order to enrich the tiniest of elites at the top.

Luckily for those who benefit the most, we have religious leaders and entertainment executives and dope dealers and propagandists of all stripes who work overtime to keep all of the rest of us hooked on "what's new." 

And anybody who is so comfortable with their circumstances that they don't understand what I am talking about is very much a part of the problem, and therefore not of the solution.

(*) NOTE: My memory is that it was our friend and colleague, the investigative reporter Mark Dowie who coined that phrase.

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THE HEADLINES:

* Today’s kids will live through three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents, study says (WP)

* U.S. Failed to Build a Sustainable Economy in Afghanistan --The U.S. spent $145 billion over two decades to help the country stand on its own, but the Taliban takeover and the withdrawal of foreign aid have left the Afghan economy on the verge of collapse. (WSJ)

* Trump won't receive "executive privilege" protection from Biden for his communications about the Jan. 6 riot, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. A congressional committee has issued subpoenas to four of Trump's former aides, leading Trump to issue a rambling statement about "executive privilege." [HuffPost]

* America’s Need to Pay Its Bills Has Spawned a Political Game -- Republicans and Democrats have long sparred over raising the debt ceiling. But this time, the odds are growing that the U.S. could default. (NYT)

* Facebook Pauses Instagram for Kids (WSJ)

* China power crunch spreads, shutting factories and dimming growth outlook (Reuters)

* Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is objecting to "Build Back Better" legislation that would dramatically increase federal support for child care — something desperately needed in Manchin's state. Whatever his fears are about government spending, there are unmet needs, especially in West Virginia, that the spending is designed to address. [HuffPost]

* Supreme Court observers see trouble ahead as public approval of justices erodes (WP)

* The Pandemic’s Toll on Women’s Careers (WSJ)

* For Schumer and Pelosi, the Challenge of a Career With No Margin for Error -- The top two Democrats in Congress face a daunting pile of legislative imperatives. With President Biden’s agenda hanging in the balance and few votes to spare, can they get it done? (NYT)

* Pfizer begins study of oral drug for prevention of COVID-19 (Reuters)

* Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said she was wrong to oppose gay marriage in the past, a stand that once split her family. The Donald Trump critic said she views her reelection campaign as the most important House race in the nation as forces aligned with the former president try to unseat her. [HuffPost]

* This was the worst slaughter of Native Americans in U.S. history. Few remember it. (WP)

* Economists Estimate Human Civilization Still Years Away From Turning Profit (The Onion)