Clive Bibby: News isn't news anymore - at least not the simple reported kind!

Like most political junkies, waiting in anticipation of reading the conclusions in the US Special Counsel's report of his two year investigation into the Trump/Russia collusion issue, l fear that the detail will somehow be lost in translation or by deliberate attempts to distort the findings. Many of those with responsibility to report the truth are already second guessing the outcome and developing strategies to present their own version of the facts.

That isn't journalism in its finest form. It is "sensationalism" bordering on deliberate misrepresentation that has no place on the front pages or in the news bulletins of the major media outlets. Sadly, it is what we have been dished up on a daily basis for the last two years and so perhaps we should expect more of the same.

I have a feeling that the Trump haters will be somewhat disappointed with Mueller's conclusions although that isn't likely to stop the Democrats pushing for the President's impeachment. After all, they have already judged him to be as guilty as sin ever since this enquiry was first established by senior members of the FBI with the encouragement of a number of the outgoing Obama administration officials.

Recent developments resulting from the Senate Judiciary Committee's own investigations make for interesting reading, especially as they establish the involvement of these same officials in some of the most corrupt practices in US history.

It makes Watergate look like a Sunday School picnic.

There is a possibility that Mueller's probe will fail to establish any deliberate collusion just like Congressional committees have already found after examining millions of bits of evidence.

Where does that leave the Trump haters?

Even if they can cobble together something that resembles indictable evidence sufficient to set up impeachment proceedings, in reality it will do nothing more than keep the manufactured doubts about the President's code of conduct as questions in the public's mind until the general election next year.

I guess, it wouldn't be surprising if that really was their motif given that the Democrats will be trying to fend off the results of enquiries into their own guilt and obstruction of justice about the same time.

My view of this whole sorry saga is that it is a pity we here in New Zealand will have to endure more of the same distorted or non existent reporting of news from the US during at least the remaining part of this presidential term and the reasons will be as much about the bias of this country's media as it is about a similar decline in journalistic standards across the free world.

I say that having been frustrated trying to keep up with political developments from around the world particularly since Trump was elected.

It's pretty obvious that the left wing media outlets of most free world countries are hell bent on achieving one objective - the destruction of this presidency and they will employ any measure necessary to ensure it happens even if it means abandoning their claim of objectivity. One of the main weapons employed by them in this war of attrition is to ignore anything favourable to the President. Worse still, the resultant "myths" are being "on sold" by our own reporters as fact.

You have to ask the question - "Are these guys just lazy or are they adding their names to the "anti Trump" brigade because it suits their promotional prospects to do so!" Maybe it's a bit of both.

Let's look at the end results of this dishonest activity.

We here in New Zealand are being fed a totally distorted view of what is actually happening in the most powerful country in the world.

Given the importance of having confidence in the policies of our greatest ally,  shouldn't we be told the truth so that we can make up our own minds about where our best interests lie.

Instead we are expected to swallow this line of mis-reporting based mainly on the " "Gospel according to The Washington Post or cable news channel CNN" - the biggest haters of them all.

Trump is now blamed for every failing international negotiations irrespective of whether he even knows what the talks are about or has anything to do with influencing the outcome. He has had to deal with the militant ascendency of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran all of which had their gestation when those gutless appeasement policies were a feature of the Obama administration.

Yet the President's successes to date on the international stage are equally as impressive as those he has achieved domestically particularly given the "poisoned chalice" he inherited on both fronts. In spite of the doom merchants prophecies, l think it is fair to say the world is a safer place since his elevation to the top job.

No matter, in the hollow minds of the haters, Trump is the reason for all things from climate change to Muslim militancy and it doesn't seem to matter what he does to honour the promises he made to the US people during the 2016 campaign, it will never be enough to convince those who dislike his character and maintain that he is unfit for office.

The casualties of this open warfare is the truth and those whose job it is to report it.

If anyone doesn't believe what l am saying, they need look no further than our own main media outlets to see the unashamed bias of not only the presentation of the news but also in the scripts that are masquerading as factual material for our consumption.

It is one thing for editorial content to be a reflection of the political persuasion of the owners - that is acceptable and always has been the price of delivery.

However, it becomes intolerable when the reporters either don't report or write stuff that is more akin to the bits published in the "opinion" columns.

That becomes fraudulent behaviour and has no place in a society that values the independence of a press we have grown to trust.

Sadly, in too many cases we are losing the benefit that relationship brings to a democracy such as ours.

While pointing out an apparent disappointing trend amongst the media across the world, we should be careful to maintain our own standards here at home. Therefore a "guilty by association" accusations have no place in this debate and we should work hard to ensure they are not included even by inference.

You must be the judge of whether or not our media people pass the test of impartiality or have thrown in their lot with the mob.

Maybe your outlet is one of the diminishing number of "good guys " faithful to the ancient standards of their code. If so, good on them - they are brave people. 

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.