For someone supposedly under duress for speaking out he sure is appearing all across the media.

The news outlet CNN has been a prime example of all of the dysphoria seen in the media complex in recent years. The channel is frequently promoting “news” later proven problematic, it has undertaken the role of the White House opposition organ, and it claims to foster the last bastion of the facts. It also is one example of the eroding consumer confidence in mainstream journalism, as the network ratings are shrinking faster than an Alka-Seltzer tablet in a bathtub.

At the network itself there are probably no better personal examples of this reality that their media maven Brian Stelter, and White House reporter Jim Acosta. Stelter at times can at least be excused, as he serves as the mouthpiece for the network, and journalism in general. Not to suggest he is accurate, but his apologetic stance is at least understandable. Acosta however, in the role of reporter/journalist, is more egregious.

With regularity, Jim Acosta side-steps the ethical standards we have been told are expected from journalists. Unbiased reporting, giving both sides of a story, seeking out the facts, and not delivering a narrative — these are all elements that have proven to be elusive with Jim’s reporting. Then there is the issue of injecting oneself into the story. Jim is so self-involved that if he were to have an affair it simply means he has decided to see other mirrors.

At the White House press briefings he has exhibited behavior that can only lead to him being described as a “diva”. He has complained about which outlets were selected for questions, about seating arrangements in the press room, and has postured like an entitled prom queen. He shouts questions at events that have no hope of being heard, let alone answered, then goes on the air to run tape of his supposed interrogation method. He does not need to get the story — HE is the story.

Tomorrow Jim has a book out on the market — “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America.” This is another trademark move of Acosta, to position himself as a put-upon, endangered messenger of the truth. In order to deliver us his golden nuggets of wisdom he is risking…well, something…we assume. The implication of a threat is ever present with Jim — it is even hinted at in the book title — and yet, he never seems to get around to actually explaining what the threat is.

To say he is not threatened with jail time, or being disappeared, as journalists face under totalitarian regimes, goes without saying. But how else is his career under threat? No one is silencing him, no one is snuffing out his right to expression. Take a look at this tweet, from his Twitter account that has not been shut down:

Later this morning… on CNN’s @ReliableSources with @brianstelter and @CBSSunday learn more about my new book: “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America.” It’s out on June 11th. The truth is worth the fight… pic.twitter.com/jHLzFfNiDX

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 9, 2019

The man who claims to be under speech duress is sure able to get seen and heard across the airwaves. Cable appearances and interviews on major networks hardly provide evidence of being silenced. Oh, and there is one other conflicting detail — HE HAS A BOOK PUBLISHED! How do you allude to censorship being a constant threat WHILE promoting your book?! When those tomes are in a pile and ignited by government censor boards, then you have a gripe. Until then your “threat” is no more than a sales pitch tagline.

This is commonplace with those in the electronic media. Journalists, celebrities, and other media figures love to talk about how they are threatened with censorship, all while broadcasting from a pulpit seen by millions (okay, in the case of CNN, hundreds of thousands.) It is amazing for a group that claims they are being silenced their message manages to be heard by the masses as they complain.

This is the hallmark of the entitled class. The people who are saying “We won’t be silenced” the loudest are involved with an altogether different reality — the truth is they will not shut up.