Broadcasters need to implement the 30-second 'liar’s delay'

Television and radio stations often use what’s called a “seven-second delay” to intentionally hold back the broadcast of live material. A short delay alerts them to such things as profanity, bloopers or other undesirable material before it can get on the air.

If, for example, somebody swears on camera, the station can mute the sound or “bleep” that portion of the interview so the public doesn’t hear it. In an extreme case, the station could go to commercial or otherwise cut away from the live interview to keep viewers from seeing or hearing something unsatisfactory.

With that in mind, I have some suggestions for the news media going forward in their coverage of the Trump administration. I offer them here, free of charge. You can thank me later.

First, automatically implement a 30-second delay on any interview involving Trump, a Trump spokesperson or a Trump surrogate. Call it the “pathological liars’ delay.” When any of them begin to lie, which is inevitable, mute the audio until they have finished lying. We’ll see their mouths move but no sound will be coming out. That way, the misinformation won’t reach the eyes and ears of the viewing public.

That leads to my second suggestion. When live interviews include so many lies they are nothing more than audible on-air questions and silent dead-air answers, the stations or networks should follow CNN’s lead and simply stop inviting these liars to go on TV. I don’t see the point in having Kellyanne Conjob go on the air, tell a bunch of lies or “alternative facts,” get called on it immediately and spend the rest of the news cycle walking back and re-explaining what she really meant to say.

That doesn’t benefit anybody except Facebook posters, Saturday Night Live and the people who create internet memes. Hopefully, the public will get the message that no one in the administration ever tells the truth and they can’t be trusted to deliver any real, meaningful information. (Yeah, right. I can’t believe I actually typed that.)

Third, continue to cover Sean Spicenut’s daily press briefings but don’t broadcast them live. Record them live and then review the recording afterward to see if there is any actual “news” to be reported. If so, edit it into a news segment and put it on the air. If not, simply report that “nothing important (or true) came from today’s briefing” and move on to another story. This will also rob SNL of source material but will protect the viewers/listeners from another barrage of lies.

And finally – and most importantly – when covering a live event, as soon as the Alternative President or one of his lackeys begins to talk about the “dishonest media” and its “fake news,” quickly and quietly turn off your cameras, walk up to the podium to retrieve your microphones and file quietly out of the room. If you all leave, Trump will be left with a room full of guests but no reporters to tell the world what he did or said. He’ll have to do it himself later – 140 characters at a time.

For all of his bluster and insults about the media, Donald J. Trump would be nothing without them and he knows it. That’s why he plays them the way he does. That’s why he spends his days looking at every newspaper, magazine and TV station that carries his image. The media made him president by covering his entire campaign in real time and doing it for free.

He knows that when he insults them or calls them out by name, they’ll carry it in real time, then race back to the newsroom to convene a panel to talk about it further for the rest of the day, which keeps the ratings high while allowing the Trump train to roll along its merry way. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to work, and it's time the media took back the news from the liars and con men who hijacked it last year and have been holding it for ransom every since.