A day after the former president of the United State, the victim of an assassination attempt, the Arizona Republic responded by dedicating a one-inch on the front page to the story. The rest of the front page was an homage to the marijuana industry.
The newspaper was forced to remove tweets from the day of the shooting advising readers, “We have removed previous Tweets that didn’t reflect the latest news regarding the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Find the latest news here:”
We have removed previous Tweets that didn’t reflect the latest news regarding the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Find the latest news here: https://t.co/DqVl47Fq2y
— azcentral (@azcentral) July 14, 2024
The outlet’s headlines had read, “Trump is rushed off stage by Secret Service after popping sounds ring out at his rally,” and “Trump removed from stage by Secret Service after loud noises startles former president, crowd.”
Let’s not forget how they want us to think… pic.twitter.com/58HBzXoDsq
— Kurt JB Curtis (@hueymechanic) July 14, 2024
The headline of major news outlets read:
· Trump taken away after loud noises at rally
· Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally
· Trump hustled off stage after loud bangs ring out at rally
· Trump rushed off stage at rally after what sounded like shots
· Trump removed from stage by Secret Service after loud noises startles former president
Our headline – along with our story was delayed because we try to get things right. Not first. Our headline included the word assassination as it should because it did not take that long to discover that we all witnessed an assassination attempt on the Republican Party’s nominee for president.
To do the right thing was not difficult. It was not a difficult or even close call.
It could have only been difficult for those outlets that have been nurturing the extreme rhetoric of the Democratic Party for years. No one in their right mind believes that Donald Trump will be a ruthless dictator or a Hitler, but the editors at the Republic appear to want to appeal to the simple minds who can believe it. The partisans who need to believe it. It is the Arizona Republic’s base. The Republic’s base is made up of people who still believe the mainstream – or legacy media – has more to offer than what is does. They don’t want to see beyond the partisan yammering of Laurie Roberts, EJ Montini, and the click bait focusing on mega-mansion sales and reports from local health department on violations found in mom-and-pop owned restaurants.
The Arizona Republic and its kin survive on click bait created revenue, public notice-type patronage, and of course simple-minded readers. Those simple-minded readers are rarely – if ever – confronted by non-bias-confirming headlines and reporting.
Readers of outlets like the Arizona Daily Independent are confronted on an almost daily basis with articles that are sure to rub them the wrong way. And that is the way it should be.
News isn’t supposed to confirm what you think you know, it is supposed to provide information you need to know if a democracy is to survive.
The Arizona Daily Independent survives because each of us involved sacrifice to make it work. We do not have corporate masters, and subscribers help, but not much – certainly not enough for us to change our reporting. In fact, if we ever had to change our reporting to suit our subscribers we would simply shut down. Something the Arizona Republic and its kind should have done a long time ago.
