That emotions among journalists are running high is completely understandable. Blaming unrelated persons based on speculation, not evidence, is not a good response. In a climate where 72 percent of Americans say that “traditional major news sources report news they know to be fake, false or purposely misleading,” responding to a mass shooting by promulgating knowingly false narratives over hard facts is not okay. It does a service to no one — not the victims and their families, not the media, and not the general public.
It hurts to be called out for reporting things in a purposely misleading fashion. But the response is not to demand to be free from criticism. The same First Amendment that guarantees press freedom guarantees freedom of speech, including critical speech.
The murder of five journalists by a known harasser is a horrible attack on the media industry, freedom of the press, and the foundations of our constitutional republic. The unnecessary and violent end to life for five journalists — you can read about them here, here, here, here, and here — is sickening to contemplate. It is yet another mass shooting perpetrated by someone repeatedly reported to the authorities to no avail.
Excellent journalists are reporting this story and will continue to do so. Support them in their efforts.
Mollie Ziegler Hemingway is the Editor-in-Chief of The Federalist. She is Senior Journalism Fellow at Hillsdale College and a Fox News contributor. She is the co-author of
Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court. She is the author of "
Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections." Reach her at
mzhemingway@thefederalist.com