media literacy

reporting or commentary?

on MEDIA | by Logan Nakyanzi Pollard | March 12, 2025

“You’re not watching the news. You’re consuming commentary. Do you know the difference? And for the journalists: are you doing the work you want to do or what’s being rewarded?”

The first time I wrote an editorial piece I was very nervous because I knew what it meant. This would be a departure; a ship would set sail. Back then, you did one or the other. And I wasn’t sure how that would work– did I need to explain?

This is me wearing my comment hat, and this is me telling you what happened (reporter), and this is me explaining why this is important (analysis).

Today, things are very different– to the point that it’s necessary for me to say this:

If you’re watching a “news” segment, and it only has one point of view . . .

NEWS FLASH: You’re not watching the news. You’re consuming commentary.

This distinction is one with a key difference– that is, it is important to understand: rhetoric, persuasion, emotion, passion, theater: all of these are communications tools.

Tools move people.

But is it towards truth or manipulation?

Do you know the difference?

And for the journalists: are you doing the work you want to do or what’s being rewarded?

Zooming out: One implication of these actions (the deception by omission) is that they reveal a distrust of the American people. But nothing could be more misguided: The American people are trustworthy. While we lose our way sometimes, we always get back on course– because we fear God, and we listen to His voice.

Need I state this more concretely?

• A stated cultural value: “In God we trust,” a statement ingrained into our mindset even before it was printed on the dollar.

• Examples of us backing it up: This is a nation that fled the religious oppression of Europe, and then went back to rescue it. It’s a country that got over slavery, racism, as best as humanly possible, while many other countries can’t reconcile their tribalism and the unspoken (yet accepted) glass ceilings along class and ethnic lines. Ours is a great country because it truly wants to be good and then dares to pursue these values.

And this desire, a yearning for goodness, gives you insight: That’s why you’re seeing such a wide-scale abandonment of the mainstream news and the public largely checking-out of what they know is biased coverage. They see through the facade, as they always eventually do.

A good story must have more than one point of view, even in fiction, even in life. Complexity is the stuff of reality: It’s messy. It takes a while to explain. But it also stops wars, saves lives, and very often averts tragedy.

People get bored with a slow reveal. But boredom is good, everyone should learn to reflect more, and pump the brakes.

Look. I feel your pain, my people (formerly, media types). I too have seen that glazed look of the person you’re coaching to go on air: you know the one where they want the 30-second answer, instead of the 10-minute (real) explanation. That, and to check their hair again.

(And don’t get me started on those who don’t even know what I’m talking about, and for whom this isn’t even a problem. )

The work is to understand that:

Journalism isn’t about who can talk the loudest, fastest or shortest. Punditry is.

Reporting is the calling of being brave enough to ask unpopular questions, and then listening for the answer.

Pro-tips:

• Journalists: If you’re in a rabble of people all jockeying to ask the same thing, and/or to have your bias confirmed– you might be winning at your job, all the while not doing it.

• Pundits: And I mention international affairs here because this is an easy one: if you comment on foreign topics, but do not speak any other language than your own, have not lived abroad, and do not regularly consume any foreign news . . . maybe take a breath and consider you may not know “everything” on a topic.

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