On The Airing Of Megyn Kelly's Alex Jones Interview | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

On The Airing Of Megyn Kelly's Alex Jones Interview

Why controversial journalism matters so much.

27
On The Airing Of Megyn Kelly's Alex Jones Interview
Kremlin

Megyn Kelly had quite the night this past Father’s Day when her interview with Alex Jones aired on NBC. That night, Kelly dove into the depths of Jones’ thoughts, false claims and downright unethical reporting, if you could even call what Jones does reporting.

Over the years, Jones has been the face of “Infowars.” He has gone through his job pulling random facts and articles from the internet and changing the face of the average conservative. Basically, Jones combines fear with traditional conservative ideas and almost creates a nasty off-brand of whatever conservativism was beginning to turn into in the first place. In fact, in the interview with Kelly, Jones openly admits that he himself does not fact check his sources, nor does he have anyone working under him that fact checks them.

So how is mainstream media like NBC, CNN, etc. “fake or unethical”?

From selling male supplements to clothing endorsing conservative candidates such as Donald Trump, Jones created a multi-million dollar company.

Kelly demonstrates how to hold poise while interviewing a common enemy of many. She demonstrates what true journalism is in a world where being politically correct trumps being straightforward, in a world where the leader of a country that has always had freedom of the press, tears down news sources that spend hours on end assimilating the most factual information they possibly can. Kelly helps to break down a barrier that has been building up without the public even realizing due to the fact that new political "celebrities" like Sean Spicer distract them from real life things going on in the United States and around the world today.

Jones to this day does not fully admit that Sandy Hook happened, which is clearly the reason why so many Americans are outraged that NBC aired the interview in the first place. But, let me tell you something: the day that news outlets stop talking about issues that actually have an impact on us, is the day that our democracy dies.

And trust me, Jones’ interview means a lot. Who knows what the future could hold for the presentation of truthful information? Who knows what the future holds for our country? Who knows what people will begin to believe in the years approaching? Just recently, Trump actually cited "Infowars" as a source. Also just recently, Trump called journalists “enemies of the people.” It is safe to say that Kelly reported on an issue that goes a lot deeper than just a conspiracy theorist.

What Kelly does is hold poise while asking tough questions – she drilled him on his poor journalistic practice, if it even is journalistic practice; in other words, she called him on his tendency to find articles online and use them as sources without fact checking. She pointed out larger company issues, such as the fact that reporters at "Infowars" have no guidance and no one looking over them to make sure that their work is accurate.

Some argue that interviews like this give immoral people national platforms, and I agree, they do. But, without citizens being informed about the relation of people like this to our current government officials and society, you leave people uninformed.

It is hypocritical to come down on NBC for airing such an issue for all of the reasons mentioned, regardless of political party affiliation. The job of an ethical journalist is to be as unbiased as possible and cover issues that are important to the public, regardless of the popularity of the subjects. This is how we evolve as a society and this is how we keep an informed one. The job of all generations is to fact-check, determine what real "fake news" is, and understand that in order for our society to be fully functional and make informed decisions, we must listen to all sides of an issue. We must listen to interviews, even if we disagree with the stances of the person being interviewed. We must be curious and question information that is presented to us, rather than just accepting that information as true. Go beyond the values that you were raised with, and dig for truthful information and challenge common thought.

(This is not an endorsement of Megyn Kelly specifically, but more of a take on her specific interview with Alex Jones and the importance of hard-hitting journalism.)

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

1148
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

797
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

114
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1465
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments