As is customary on days like yesterday, saw a lot of “the media” this, “the media” that. Food for thought.

This industry contains hundreds of thousands of people and, frankly, a lot don’t like each other. Philosophical differences, egos, broadcast v. print, etc.

We can argue over things like em dashes, semicolons and, apparently, how to address coaches in pressers. You think we can band together for some nationwide agenda? Take the 20 seconds of critical thinking it requires to see through that farce.

The blowhard you saw on TV or your Facebook feed is one insufferable person. He/she is not “the media”.

Your local TV reporter, grinding through garbage equipment and understaffing issues for a $28K salary, does not deserve to pay for the sins of whoever on CNN pissed you off.

And we are not the only industry this happens to. Good, honest used car salespeople and lawyers surely have to deal with the reputation their shady colleagues place upon them.

Our elementary school teachers tried to tell us — don’t judge a book by its cover.

Not all media/reporters are perfect. I’ve done my fair share of pointing it out, privately and publicly.

Applying their inadequacies to the entire industry is lazy and it’s ignorant, and it’s unjust for any and all industries that have to deal with it.

That’s not to say you can’t be skeptical of media — in this era, where biased “reporting” is as easy to find as the honest kind, you probably should.

There’s a difference between skeptical and dismissive. Being dismissive is easy; being skeptical takes effort. Challenge yourself

And being skeptical of media does not mean screaming FAKE NEWS at everything you disagree with/don’t want to be true. It means understanding the definition of a fact & relying on outlets/reporters who A) seek them relentlessly, and B) use them to inform everything they say/write.

Alright, I’m good. This account will now return to nonsense with some interruptions for Alabama athletics updates.