Two of the latest Supreme Court decisions brought out the worse in news reporting. The first was the challenged part of the Affordable Care Act that deals with state exchanges and subsidies. The vote was 6-3 to uphold those provisions of the ACA. The headlines and news reports said it was a victory for the President. It was not.
It was a victory for those Americans who were insured under the ACA who were without health insurance before the act became a law. It was also a victory for those who are still uninsured but will be able to register under the act when registration opens again. And it was a victory for the Supreme Court for having the courage and foresight to understand the intent of the legislation. That was the real story.
The second decision of the Supreme Court that gave same sex couples the right to marry in all 50 states also brought out the worse in reporting. The majority reports quoted the ditto heads who said the decision put an end to traditional marriage. (marriage between a man and a woman) However, the court ruling had nothing to do with marriage between a man and a woman and does not change that one iota. The only people who can change that are those couples themselves. Marriage between a man and a woman was not the story. It was the enforcement of the public right of citizens under the Constitution that carried the day and was the real story.
The negative voices always receive top billing because the networks have so much time to fill and those voices are used to keep the reports flowing. The Fox News Network uses all of those voices to keep their shows alive. The network will not allow facts and substance top billing.
Some day people will come to understand that Supreme Court decisions in most cases are not conservative or liberal. When that day comes the negative voices wont make so much noise and the news media will find more time for positive reporting.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
