Scandalmonger by William Safire - Book Report/Review Example

This can be clearly seen in a given position on an ideal in which these individuals would support and promote the ideology by publicising it to the public, and by continuous emphasis on the same; thus, resulting to change in opinion and emotions towards the ideology (Safire, 36). Knowing all these, Thomas Jefferson opted to use Thomson Callender as the ideal weapon to neutralize his arch enemy Alexander Hamilton. This is achieved by Callender using his position as an editor to write about the adultery and shady dealings that Hamilton had made in his office tenure.

Callinder’s writing saw the reputation of Hamilton drugged through the mud that he was forced to admit the affair and the fact that he was adulterous (Safire, 36). It is established that media had the power through manipulation of public opinion to influence the course of a given action and even go to the extent of disarming and destroying a powerful political figure easily. The domestic newsmongers’ influence went to the heights of controlling even political views since they could manipulate the public; hence, making Americans believe what the newsmongers saw was ideal to them.

This can be supported by the fact that Callinder backed by Jefferson was able to change people’s ideal totally, and gratitude which they had for Hamilton even after he brought into being the banking legislation (Safire, 199). Even George Washington, the then president who viewed Hamilton as the son he never had, felt disappointed, and had the betrayed feelings of his ‘acts’, which were heavily criticised by Callinger whose writings were only after destroying Hamilton’s name and did not take a minute to check if the person was truly guilty or just a victim as he had pled (Safire, pg 39).

Editorialists Disservices to the American People America was an infant nation during the 1800s period and therefore, had many interest groups that wanted to be heard and their views expressed well to the governing body. The media made up of these newsmongers became the central organ of publicizing the groups’ interest and it is from such impartiality and faithfulness that the media was seen as a party that fully presented the public interest, and had the best for the American people. This saw the media gunner the needed good faith to be able to easily influence the public into believing certain ideals and ignoring others which the media persons here being newsmongers saw unprofitable to them.

The American editorial of the 1800s did not consider the source of its information and what repercussions the news or writings they publicized had on the individual party and society in general (Safire, 199). First and foremost the act of accepting to be used by a political figure heads to attack and discredit others was not an ethical thing to do, and since success could not be obtained by just laying down facts, the editors had to cook up some information so as to make these stories more interesting.

This denies the public a write to factual news. The editors are bound by a code of ethics to be impartial and present to the public on their findings to let the people choose from this what they saw well. However, these editors using Callinder as an example only wrote what their financers felt needed to be known and thus denying the public the other side of the coin (Safire, 199). This is a total disservice to the American peopl