ARI HERZOG

My Personal Blog

What If the Media Boycotts the White House?

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Five days after the presidential inauguration in 2017 when the media was presented with claims of fake news and alternative facts, former GQ political commentator Keith Olbermann preached about the lunacy of the new occupier-in-chief.

The first three minutes of his web video are gold, including the following advice to every media outlet:

“Stop covering his speeches live. Use a delay. Employ a team of fact checkers. Play his rants. Each time he lies, stop the tape. State the facts. Resume the tape. Wait for the next lie. Stop the tape again. State the facts again. Do not participate in the Trump propaganda game.”

It’s 2020 and his speeches are still covered live.

Especially now during the coronavirus pandemic and a desire for a national dialogue on police reform and racial injustice, there’s an immediate need for the media to stop airing his pseudo-campaign rallies. Every time he speaks, he’s running for re-election. His words are laced with untruths and propaganda. Stop giving him unfiltered coverage.

“The media is not required to be complicit in Trump’s fearmongering,” wrote The Nation’s Elie Mystal in March. “The only reason it goes along is for ratings and clicks.”

Imagine if every press conference, regardless of location, has no reporters — or they make a pact to not ask questions. They can interrogate other officials but not the head golfer.

This is the White House briefing room.

If the media must have staff to take notes and ask questions, then stop using political reporters. Instead, bring in healthcare reporters and crime reporters. Use their expertise to ask questions that Americans care about. Or, use a pool reporter to ask questions on behalf of all.

White House correspondents can be reassigned to interact with press secretaries and communications directors, and to interview agency heads and project managers. They should research hard-hitting investigative pieces. According to The Atlantic’s senior editor David Frum, White House reporters should get out of the building and find the truth from people who will tell it.

It’s not a bad idea. It’s not too late to start.

How I Consume the News

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When the pandemic began — and even before that when people ran amok and didn’t know what to do — I actively consumed the news. NPR, CNN, MSNBC, Slate. In hindsight, my actions led to high levels of stress and anxiety. I didn’t sleep well and didn’t eat much. I was grieving.

One morning, I stopped everything. No more NPR. No more news channels. No more online journalism. Full stop.

This is an image of a news key.For several days, without consuming any news and after unfollowing anyone on Facebook or Twitter who shared the news, I introduced new behaviors into my life. I started taking daily walks and doing exercise. I resurrected this blog. I made lists of things to do and stuff to buy. I began what’s become a daily routine. Longer sleep and healthier eating returned.

In time, and on my own terms, I gradually reintroduced the news. Every morning, I peruse headlines on the Boston Globe and Washington Post apps. I don’t click to read more. I only look at the headlines. I peruse Twitter throughout the day to see what’s trending. But again, I’m not clicking.

I’m not watching, listening to, or reading any media that I did pre-pandemic. It’s too sensational for me. I don’t need it and I don’t want it. By consuming the news on my schedule I am aware of what matters.

For years, I’ve believed that if something is important enough for me to know then enough people will talk about it and then I’ll learn about it. That’s how things go viral online.

“Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn’t have to actually do anything else.”

Source: Seth Godin in 2007

Every evening, I see what people are sharing on social media and I click a few headlines to stay aware. This is what the President said. That is what the Governor said. This is what a model is forecasting. That is what a local company is doing.

I’m happy with this routine. It works for me.

Image by GotCredit on Flickr.

Hard Stop

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Since last summer, I spent most of my evenings and weekends as an independent contractor in the gig economy. It was my side job. I shopped or delivered groceries to households and small businesses for Amazon Flex, Shipt, and Instacart. I occasionally drove Uber passengers. The majority of people tipped me and I lived happily.

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. By that point, I had stopped driving people and cautiously continued shopping and delivering.

After witnessing a young child with a coughing fit in a Target store, I hard stopped my lifestyle and income dependency on March 22.

With the exception of two drugstore pickups and a post office transaction, I haven’t entered a store in nearly three weeks.

My apartment is nevertheless well-stocked with food and supplies. In recent days, I’ve received shipments from Amazon, Staples, and a bookstore. When delivery is not an option, or if I don’t want to wait days for it arrive (if a delivery window is even available), I order curbside pickup. I order items in advance, pay for it online or by phone, drive up to the physical location, alert someone that I am there, and my bags are brought to my trunk. I don’t have to leave my car. On the rare occasion, I pick up the bags from a sidewalk rack.

I don’t understand people who consciously enter stores. When friends tell me they are going shopping, I ask them if they need or want the items. The response is usually a want. Why are they putting their and everyone else’s lives at risk?

See, I assume that I’m asymptomatic. It grounds me and forces me to be aware of my surroundings. It forces me to be concerned for my friends, that their actions could infect others or lead to self-infection.

“Between 25% and 50% of people who get the coronavirus may show no symptoms but still be contagious,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci on April 5. He is the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

Some might describe my extreme concern for others — don’t do this, don’t do that — as caution. It’s not. I’m a realist. Always have been. The more we can do as individual members of society to help each other by staying out of stores, keeping 6 feet apart, proper hygiene, wearing masks, has a direct correlation to practicing vigilance.

On the latter, I perused a list of masks made in America and ordered some a few days ago. One order is en route. Last week, I received some extra-large bandanas. I wouldn’t enter stores unless an emergency, but I’ll wear the face coverings to take walks in busy areas or when going to pop-up events.

Alt and Rogue Twitter Accounts are Unofficial But They Are Not Necessarily Fake

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Flags.

Shortly after Inauguration Day, the Trump Administration issued a gag order to federal agencies to cease online communications and other media outreach until transition teams were in place.

The White House is creating national unrest on multiple fronts. President Trump called climate change a “hoax” during his campaign. He signed an executive order eliminating funding to health groups that advise on abortions. He hires advisors who represent far-right conservative movements.

It doesn’t help that the Senate confirmation process is taking a long time. Votes are not yet scheduled for the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce, Interior, Agriculture, and Labor; or for the Director of National Intelligence or the U.S. Trade Representative. The delay is causing agency outreach to be restricted if not halted.

Adding to the confusion are public comments by Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Counselor Kellyanne Conway using terms such as “alternative facts” and “fake news.”

Is it a surprise to you that government employees went rogue and created Twitter accounts to share real facts and real news?

This grassroots movement began with the National Park Service and spread to other federal agencies that created their own alt and rogue accounts. To date, I maintain a Twitter list of over 120 alt accounts for you to peruse and follow.

How do you determine if a tweet or an account is real or fake?

NOAA is an acronym for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. With over 136,000 followers, altNOAA’s bio is specific: “The Unofficial ‘Resistance’ team of the NOAA. Account not taxpayer subsidized. The NOAA studies the oceans and the atmosphere to understand our planet.”

Is this account real? Or is it fake? Or is it somewhere in between?

Does authenticity matter if the facts get out?

Why do alt and rogue accounts describe themselves and tweet as they do?

Pressing for more information via private messaging, I received a range of responses. Here’s one:

“What we hoped to accomplish was to support our fellow civil servants who are understandably alarmed about a new administration that does not appear to be operating within the norm. Most of us have gone through transitions and we all know that our role and obligation is to carry out the policies of a new administration subject to our oath to faithfully uphold the laws and Constitution. What we find so worrisome is that this administration appears to think that our role and obligation is to is carry out their policies without regard to the laws and Constitution. That is deeply troubling to anyone who believes in good government and, for that matter, democracy. As far as whether someone can tell we are real we can only say that we are and have no intention other than to encourage exercise of free speech within the bounds of our obligations as federal employees.”

I’m reminded of President Obama’s first inauguration when he promoted public participation and the concept of getting involved in political action.

Time will tell how these alt and rogue accounts change their messaging. For now, they share real facts and publicly-available information. And if something they tweet compels you to take action, that’s a good thing, right?

Why I Am Addicted to @CSPAN

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I admit it. I am addicted to CSPAN.

I don’t receive cable TV and I get my news from various sources. I don’t mind reading or watching news after the fact (as it’s sometimes better then) but I also enjoy real-time and unfiltered news. CSPAN fills that void.

Partially because of my political and government background and that it’s fascinating watching the Trump Administration get dissected and fall apart, but also because I’m applying for work, I’m passionately engrossed watching Senate confirmation hearings and White House press briefings.

In addition to my 100-plus Twitter list of White House reporters and watching CNN GO on Roku, CSPAN helps me gain awareness of Washington’s who’s who of players.

Many political reporters and White House correspondents use Twitter only to broadcast their own insights and investigations. Others recognize the power of sharing links and retweets. A smaller number of people will acknowledge you if you get on their radar.

In one example, I thanked a CNN roundtable of panelists.

I quickly received a notification that Karen Tumulty and Jonathan Martin, political reporters for the Washington Post and New York Times, manually “liked” my tweet thanking them.

In another example, as I watched Sean Spicer call upon a reporter and not knowing his affiliation, and seeing that CSPAN showed that part of the room, I observed Jared Rizzi (representing a SiriusXM channel) tweeting from behind. We interacted in the past, so I asked him to help me identify a face. He responded seconds later.

A lot of people are distracted by this political chaos and the initial weeks of the presidency.

I’m not distracted. I’m very productive. In fact, if I watch or read the media too much, I get bored — and my creativity surges.

I don’t know where my (or the larger) political world is going but I’m enjoying the CSPAN ride through this new normal.

Trump and Nieto Reinvent Foreign Policy on Twitter

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This is Donald Trump.This is President Nieto.

Donald Trump and Enrique Pena Nieto, the respective Presidents of the USA and Mexico, are reinventing decades of foreign policy protocols — on Twitter.

Trump’s campaign was predicated on the belief that a contiguous wall would be built along the US-Mexico border and that Mexico would pay for it.

Nieto said that his country will not pay.

Fast forward to January 26, 2017 on the sixth day of the Trump Administration when Trump tweeted.

Nieto was quick to respond.

Translated from the Spanish: This morning we have informed the White House that I will not attend the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with the @POTUS.

Several hours later, Trump spoke to Republican members of Congress and said that it was a mutual decision.

Reporters quickly tweeted his words and their own words for what will become TV and printed stories about this latest development. I don’t know if Trump and Nieto are saying the same thing in their own words; or if Trump is (once again) presenting doublethink to the people.

This is not normal. This is the new normal.