Kick ’em

One tradition in the media is regrettable, and that is the habit of tarring individuals after they have experienced a loss.  Here is an example.  Hillary Clinton lost the election, and now a book proclaims it was all her fault.  There might have been culpability on her part, but did the authors need to kick her while she is down?  It is a destructive approach to reporting and only partly true.  Would the reporters have written the same book had she won?  Individuals and organizations have to steel themselves for Monday quarterbacking once they have experienced a major loss or failure.  People want to know what happened. The temptation to heighten the drama by reporting the worst aspects of the situation is too much for some journalists.  They stoop to the juiciest details and fail to maintain a balance.  There isn’t much an individual or organization can do but to ride it out and try to rebuild one’s reputation later.