OPINION: Is pointing out Trump’s homecoming ‘choreography’ fake-newsy?

May 19--Reader: In your May 12 Sound Off column you responded to a reader by writing that President Trump is responsible for conflating "fake news" and "negative news." I think you are right to a certain extent: President Trump goes overboard identifying every negative news report as fake. But, in my opinion, much of the media does a pretty good job mixing the two together themselves to the point that some news reports are just plain silly and insulting to us as consumers of news.

Look at recent events related to the North Korea prisoner release. NBC's Hallie Jackson reported that Trump's meeting of the freed prisoners at 3 in the morning was "choreographed." Yes, so what? Televised events involving humans are not choreographed or scripted, except maybe L.A. car chases? Is reporting that this event was choreographed really considered "news" by NBC? Or was their intent to downplay a positive event while trying not to give the Trump administration any credit for the release of these prisoners?

If this kind of ethically challenged reporting by Hallie Jackson were just an occasional event, then no big deal. But the same applies to The New York Times' report that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wasn't around for the announcement by President Trump that the U.S. was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear treaty. Secretary Pompeo was on a plane bound for North Korea to bring back the U.S. prisoners and to negotiate a meeting date and time between President Trump and Kim Jong Un. I think it would be fair to assume that President Trump and Secretary Pompeo talked about this withdrawal from the nuclear treaty before he left to North Korea. Did Secretary Pompeo really need to be present for the announcement of the withdrawal?

Now, if Pompeo were not involved in the decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear treaty at all, well then that would be newsworthy. But as to what The Times reported on this event, in the words of Keyshawn Johnson, "c'mon, man."

There are probably dozens of other examples I could give that border on "fake news" because they are just not newsworthy compared to the underlying event itself. I think consumers of news, whether they are on the left or right, understand what is going on and are much more sophisticated than they are given credit for. If a news organization has a different political ideology than the current administration then admit it. Go ahead and report the negative but at least be honest.

By the way, I am a Republican but I didn't vote for either Trump or Hillary Clinton. I voted with a write-in candidate because I couldn't fathom either one of them as president. However, I must say that I do like many of the things President Trump has accomplished thus far and what his administration plans to do. I consider myself moderate, middle of the road politically. But now that I know you also consider yourself moderate, I may have to rethink where I fall in the political spectrum.

-- Greg Billinger

Price: NBC's Hallie Jackson wasn't reporting simply these prisoners' release from North Korea, but rather a much bigger story: the political impact, domestic and diplomatic, of their release. That's what Trump fans and Trump critics alike were talking about, right? Not the prisoners' happy reunions with their families, but Trump's huge international public relations victory.

In that context, the stateside arrival of the three men from North Korean custody had considerable relevance. Pointing out that it was a choreographed event seems fair game to me because it underscores the White House's understanding of the event's symbolic value. And what's wrong with a little choreography anyway?

All presidents choreograph events to optimize their value as positive messages to the nation and the world. One could argue that every public viewing of the president, any president, is choreographed. Think about it: The Oval Office photo opp with the championship sports team, the president's authoritative deplaning onto the White House back lawn from Marine One, the Rose Garden celebration of legislative success. When was the last time we saw a president in a totally spontaneous, unscripted moment? They're rare. (Ironically, Trump goes off script more often than most have.)

Now, maybe Jackson was trying a little too hard to emphasize the video production aspect: a former reality show star, glamorous first lady by his side, stepping onto the stage-lit Andrews Air Force Base tarmac. We get it. But Jackson also discussed the significance of Trump's diplomatic breakthrough -- her report wasn't all about the optics. Not even close.

I don't see anything approaching "fake news" here.

But, as for The Times' story about Pompeo's absence at the time Trump announced the Iran deal, I think you have a point. Trump had already displayed a willingness to go it alone on policy declarations great and small, and his secretary of state was, after all, elsewhere doing secretary of state-type things. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not at President Obama's side in June 2015 when he announced (in one of those choreographed Rose Garden speeches) that the U.S was forging ahead with the Iran deal. So this smells a little like a double standard.

But "fake news"? That's a bit much.

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Reader: There's a four-hour bomb scare Tuesday at the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office on 17th Street playing out on Facebook and other places and it's not even in the paper? Isn't your job to inform us for public safety? Or is there another hidden good-ol'-boy arrangement here? I also noticed there was no video of who placed the empty prop. You should investigate.

-- Ernest Oliver

Price: It is indeed our job to inform people about ongoing public safety issues. We did that, promptly posting a story about the evacuation on Bakersfield.com and Twitter. Turned out the "bomb" wasn't much of anything, but it led to a two-hour (not four-hour) shutdown of the building. We did not include the story in our print edition because of space considerations, although I wish we had -- but, then, reading about a bomb scare 20 hours after the situation has been resolved is of limited usefulness. That's a benefit of being a digital-first operation.

When it comes to our printed newspaper, every day presents a different challenge as we weigh the relative importance of a given news story against the space we have to display it that particular day. Some days, a false bomb scare might merit a moderately substantial headline. On this particular day, it was published only in our online product.

Of course, we also need to consider our good-ol'-boy obligations. Unfortunately, I missed the network's last meeting, so I'm not sure what sort of nefarious arrangements we might have made with other good ol' boys to deprive the good people of Bakersfield with unfiltered news. I'm sure it was sinister as usual, whatever it was.

A spokesman for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools said he was not aware of the existence of any surveillance video.

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Reader: I was just calling in regard to your May 16 column, "Cracks appear in Latinos' quest to unseat Couch," and (was wondering why) we always have to have race and stuff (in the media). I'll just read here what it says: "What was once the majority white Republican district is now majority Latino district." Why put race in it? People are either Republican or Democrat, let's just leave it at that.

-- Hajir Nuriddin

Price: I wouldn't have included references to race if race weren't at the heart of the issue. The U.S. District Court judge who ordered the county to redraw its 4th District boundaries, putting Supervisor David Couch in this challenging position, did so in response to a lawsuit claiming that the county was in violation of the Voting Rights Act: Latinos, the plaintiffs successfully argued, have been underrepresented. So the judge specifically ordered the creation of a majority Latino district. He didn't order the creation of a majority Democrat district; that just happens to have been a byproduct. My column wouldn't have made any sense had it not referenced race.

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Reader: Evangelicals had no choice but to vote for the only one who could beat Hillary, who for one thing believes in abortion, including late-term abortion (sickening). I am an avid supporter of Trump and MAGA but does that mean he gets a pass on lies, locker room talk, and infidelities 16 years before he was elected? Of course not!

I for one am keeping my eye on whether he works to fulfill his campaign promises and, for the most part, I see that is exactly what he is doing. What I also see is the other party throwing temper tantrums because their candidate didn't get elected. Even their candidate is still throwing a pity party over her loss.

We got blessed when Trump was elected, even with all of his failures. Trump was the only man who could get the job done. His donors were primarily small donations from hardworking Americans. Gotta go get ready for church -- an evangelical church.

-- Ms. Lou Stoker

Price: Many evangelicals said the same thing back in November 2016: Better Trump, with all his faults, than Hillary, with all hers. Come to think of it, millions of nonevangelicals did too.

Back to the original discussion, however: Many in the evangelical community today are dismayed that practicing Christians are giving President Trump (not Candidate Trump; we're past that now) a pass on behavior that is decidedly un-Christian: insults, falsehoods and payoffs to women he's not married to. That's all Bob Englehart's "Last Supper" political cartoon (remember? that's how this whole thing started) was referencing.

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Reader: I thank The Bakersfield Californian for publishing my letter on the upcoming 2020 census on May 17. Unfortunately I must correct myself. I stated as far as I knew illegal immigrants could not vote in California elections; they can and have legally.

More than 840,000 illegal immigrants have received driver's licenses, at which time they are automatically registered to vote. It seems of this number 13 percent or a minimum of 109,200 voted in our last elections. Some groups state as many as 522,000 have voted.

A California court has ruled if an illegal immigrant has a state-issued driver's license and is registered to vote by the DMV, they must be allowed to vote and the vote must be counted. One site run by the Democrat Party states the number of illegal immigrants who have voted is zero. This makes you wonder if they are headquartered here in California or if even on this planet.

-- Ronal Reynier

Price: Good news! You don't need to correct yourself after all. PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, Snopes and others report that California hasn't and isn't planning to "Automatically Register Illegal Immigrants to Vote," as one viral headline says. PolitiFact gives the story, apparently first reported by WorldNetDaily, its "Pants on Fire" designation.

A representative for the California Secretary of State told Fox News last year that AB 60 license applicants -- a program for undocumented noncitizens -- are not afforded voter registration opportunities when visiting the DMV.

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Reader: I have greatly missed John Cox's award-winning coverage of business and economics ever since he left The Bakersfield Californian a couple of years ago. It was a big loss to those of us who read TBC to follow the local economy. I'm pleased Mr. Cox is back as business editor.

-- Mark Evans

Price: I'm pleased, too. What readers don't see is the passion, energy and meticulous approach that he brings to the newsroom. He's a huge addition.

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Reader: Thank you for the response to my comment about our shared "lefty" status in Saturday's Sound Off. I think your reply must have been tongue in cheek. I meant "lefty" in the southpaw sense, not the political sense. I noticed you writing with your left hand when you were interviewing someone at the Merle Haggard Post Office dedication event. Anyway, thanks again for the weekly dose of entertainment and sanity.

-- Jim VanderZwan

Price: My tongue is often in my cheek, but it wasn't in that case. I really thought you meant politically left. I must be touchy about the subject. Yes, I am a proud southpaw. Five of our last eight presidents throw with their left, you know. Even if their politics are on the right. Not that that's anything to be boasting about.

The Californian's Robert Price answers your questions and takes your complaints about our news coverage in this weekly feedback forum. Questions may be edited for space and clarity. To offer your input by phone, call 395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or email us at [email protected]. Include your name and phone number; they won't be published.

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