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View Full Version : Reality Check doing a piece on newsletters




dillo
12-28-2011, 04:54 PM
http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-salt-lake-city/ron-paul-supporters-seek-balanced-news-find-anchorman-ben-swann

nice little article about Ron

Ron Paul supporters often describe the experience of learning about and understanding Ron Paul's stances as "waking up." "Waking up" to the fact that the United States foreign policy is doing harm, not good, that the nation's economic policies have been and will continue to be disastrous without change, and that the government is aggressively dismantling the Constitution and personal liberty through continued attacks via destructive legislation (most recently the NDAA).

But perhaps one of the most significant things citizens have realized, because of Ron Paul's campaign, is the reason why they were all asleep in the first place. It became glaringly obvious to those paying attention in 2007, and again now in 2011, when Paul is constantly dismissed as "fringe" or "unelectable" by every major media network, as if their purpose was to decide the news, not report it. If he comes in second in a poll, then the first and third place candidates get the headline.

The media blackout is well-known. But since Paul has maintained his front-runner status in Iowa, the mainstream media has been forced to talk about him. The headlines now include Paul, but they are far from being fair or balanced. A sampling of today's headlines -- "Ron Paul's disqualifying racial ignorance" and "Mr. Paul's discredited campaign" prove the point. Often readers confuse opinion pieces with news pieces, and for good reason -- there's generally not a lot of difference between the two.

Americans are not just tired of corrupt politicians, but the corrupt mainstream media who want to keep them in the dark. In their desire to be informed, they have turned off national news like CNN, CBS, and Fox News and have switched to alternative sources.

Thousands of people across the nation are turning to an unlikely place: a local news anchor in Cincinnati, Ben Swann. Swann hosts a segment on WXIX Fox 19 called "Reality Check." He has been at Fox 19 for a year now, but last month he aired a story about Ron Paul that went viral online, and his fans on Facebook jumped by 10,000 in just a couple of weeks. His reports have received more than 2.3 million hits online. "Reality Check: An endorsement for fairness in dealing with Ron Paul" was the fair and balanced report that Ron Paul supporters had been craving.

Swann's decision to do a report on Ron Paul came after watching the CBS debate on November 12th of this year. He told Examiner,

I consume an enormous amount of news on a daily basis and began to notice how few of the national media would even mention Congressman Paul’s name. Regardless of how he was doing in the polls, he was largely ignored by commentators. After the CBS debate where Rep. Paul was only given 89 seconds of time to speak despite polling between 12 and 15 percent at the time compared to Rick Santorum who was polling between 1 and 3 percent nationally but given 5:45 seconds of time, I felt it was time to call out the media on their treatment of the candidate.


Swann says the idea of "Reality Check" in its conception was simply to fact-check stories. When he was put on the project last December, he began fact-checking politicians, lawmakers, and working to defend the Constitution. He is fortunate to have complete control over what he covers and how. He's covered topics ranging from the Republican presidential candidates to the Occupy Movement to the war on terror. Swann said,

The goal of "Reality Check" is to cut through the spin of politicians or lawmakers who are simply not honest when discussing their records, or how laws will impact the individual liberty of the people they are supposed to represent. National media has become so busy pushing an agenda, they seem to forget the primary role of media is to hold those in power in check. My hope is that is what "Reality Check" will not only accomplish but will inspire in other journalists.


Before moving to Cincinnati and working on "Reality Check," Swann spent the first 11 years of his broadcasting career in El Paso, Texas, where he was raised. Swann had a unique upbringing as he was homeschooled with his nine siblings. They went through an accelerated education program his mother pioneered that allowed each of them to obtain their high school diploma by age 11, college degrees from BYU by 15 (they earned the degrees from BYU not because they were Mormon, but because BYU had an excellent distance learning program), and master's degrees from California State University by age 16.

He started out as a news photographer working in El Paso, Texas for a Fox affiliate, and he worked his way up from photographer to a "one man band" (who shot, wrote, produced and edited his own stories) to a bureau chief, to morning anchor, and finally a main anchor. Only 33, Swann has already won an Edward R. Murrow Award and two Emmys. He's married with five children.

Swann is clearly driven, and he's focused on bringing the balance back to news reporting. He said,


News media should be the protectors of freedom and the Constitution. Media should spend less time worrying about how long Kim Kardashian is married and more time worrying about Congress passing the NDAA and stealing the rights of American citizens to have a fair trial.


His dedicated and growing following on Facebook demonstrates the desire that Americans have for factual reporting. Swann believes that because of the internet, Facebook, and social networking that millions of Americans are by-passing the mainstream media who, he feels, are simply making themselves obsolete.

Swann interacts often with his Facebook supporters, even posting polls listing a choice between two topics that he is considering. He said,


Because I do "Reality Check" three times a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), sometimes there are more stories out there that I just don’t have time to get to. In those cases, I give viewers a chance to select the story. I must say that even though they have the opportunity to select the topic, in no way do viewers sway the content of those "Reality Check" segments. Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.


Ron Paul supporters will be excited to learn that because of all the allegations being hurled at Ron Paul over the last couple of weeks, Swann has decided to do a two-part "Reality Check" on the Ron Paul newsletters and whether or not Paul's voting record has been racist. Those stories will air Wednesday and Thursday nights of next week, January 4th and 5th.

Swann, like millions of Americans, believe we are at a critical point in our nation's history. Swann said,


Our debt is unsustainable and is destroying our future. Our president and Congress continue to pass bills that erode the Bill of Rights in the name of security. The Constitution is in shambles, and the news media is content to cover nonsense and info-tainment.

It is my hope that, as Americans awake to these realities, they will do more than simply shake their heads in disbelief -- they will fight to hold on to the republic we have inherited from greater generations than our own.


Americans can start that fight by supporting those in the media with journalistic integrity. Then maybe, as Swann said, it will inspire other journalists to follow; and hopefully, when a journalist simply reports the facts of a story it will no longer be a story in itself.

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Ive always enjoyed Ben Swann and look forward to his pieces on the newsletters