“It feels like somebody is using a Magic 8-Ball to make these decisions. There is no consistency. There doesn’t even seem to be consistency in who’s making these decisions.”
Kelly Hills, quoted in No More Than 10 People in One Place, Trump Said. But Why? NEW YORK TIMES online, Monday, March 16, 2020.
On the Rachel Maddow TV Show on Monday night, March 16, they showed the typed one-page sheet titled "Guidelines" issued by "the White House." The page was a splash of different fonts, mismatching bullet points, and indents all over the place.
Later "the White House" issued a more presentable 100 pages also titled "Guidelines" and posted them online.
Continuing our look at 21st Century Journalism, I took note that all of the articles I read in the New York Times referred to the 10-person social distancing limit as part of "the White House Guidelines," except one. Some even falsely attributed the 10-person limit to the Centers for Disease Control.
The Centers for Disease Control in truth recommends a social distancing limit of 50 people. This means that the CDC recommends against gatherings larger than groups of 50 people. I read only one article in the New York Times that recognized and published this fact -- and it reported that fact not once but twice.
It's long past time for government officials to speak the truth. Isn't it about time that people who can ask questions and write truthful answers be the ones we call journalists?
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