The recent disclosure of John Edwards affair has dominated the news lately. Originally disclosed by The National Enquirer the story is now being covered by every major news outlet on the planet.
The New York Times reported : "It was the encounter that would unceremoniously hoist former Senator John Edwards's extramarital affair into full public view: a visit last month with the woman and her baby in a hotel room in Beverly Hills, Calif., where Mr. Edwards was confronted by reporters for The National Enquirer as he tried to leave the building."
On the Sunday night Fox News show "Hannity's America" Shaun Hannity's interview with Dr. Jerome Corsi David Perel - National Enquirer Editor in Chief, Hannity asked why main stream media hadn't previously discovered this story. Mr. Perel's responded "The evidence of this affair was right in front of the good old boys of main stream media but they looked the other way". Later Hannity commented "Journalism is definitely changing where everyone is now a reporter and it is certainly revealing that a tabloid like The National Enquirer breaks a major story with such implications as this one".
Who Are the Good Old Boys?
We all know who they are. They represent people who seek favor, power and acceptance from those who have the power. The unspoken rule of the "good old boy system" is to hide inconvenient truths that may put those in power at risk or expose negative character traits that could impact their public persona. To seek favor and acceptance from the "good old boys" people go along with "cover ups, hidden agendas and inconvenient truths" so they can stay inside the inner circle of those in power. The good old boy system has been spun as political correctness and has perpetuated our culture and society on a national and local scale. Those that don't go along with the system have been labeled as disruptors, rumor mongers, politically incorrect and being too direct in their communications. In other words if you buck the system it may come back and bite you.
Recently I was talking with a friend who had suddenly lost their job. Their employer had laid off close to 50% of the work force claiming the market was bad and they needed to cut cost in order to satisfy their investors. I asked my friend what he thought was the reason for the layoffs. His response "Just one year ago the company spent millions of dollars expanding into different markets and now they decided it was a mistake and shut down the expansion efforts." He then went on to say "The irony of those decisions is that the very managers that made those decisions were not laid off but the talent that led the company's successes locally were all let go." I asked, "Did you share you views with the CEO?" His response, "Are you kidding, the management team has the CEO insulated from the truths and they are all good old boys covering each others butt". Sound familiar?
More of Us, Less of Them
Hannity's comment "Journalism is definitely changing where everyone is now a reporter and it is certainly revealing that a tabloid like The National Enquirer breaks a major story with such implications as this one" speaks to the shifts in journalism. Tired of "the good old boy" system individuals are now becoming the reporters sharing anything and everything openly. Millions are using social media to report stories from the front line and to express views and opinions about anything, everything and anyone. I would dare say that there are a lot more people who are sick of the good old boy system than there are those who buy into and use the system to their selfish advantage.
Transparency can be very disruptive to those whom try and hide inconvenient truths. Cover ups are no longer contained by the good old boys. If you don't believe so ask John Edwards.
What say you?