"Journalism and conjuring will always be incompatible... The two trades rest on opposite principles. The whole point of being a conjurer is that you won't explain a thing that has happened; the whole point of being a journalist is that you do explain a thing that hasn't happened." -- G.K. Chesterton, Magic: A Fantastic Comedy
Magicians thrive by doing without explaining; whereas the media stays in business by explaining what no one is doing. Journalism and Juju are both dark arts.
The soothsayer tries to keep secret what every can see, but the studio tries to keep secret what no one can see. The wizard's agenda is clear, his methods are not; the anchor's methods are obvious, but their agenda isn't always. The illusionist and the journalist both have secrets, but one makes plain what the other seeks to conceal.
They are photo negatives of each other. Each depends on you seeing something and not see something else.
The magician wants you to see the trick, but not the tactic; the reporter wants you to see the tactic, but not the trick. The conjurer wants you to see the wand, not the ways, whereas the anchor wants you to see the way, but not their wand. Both use sleight of hand, one with a wand, the other with a wink. The magician, to his credit, is at least honest enough to tell you that it’s a trick; whereas the trick of the media is that you'd never know. The one tells the truth but disguises the game where the other disguises the truth by playing a game.
Both rely on tricks of the trade. The magician's trade is to deal openly in tricks; whereas the media's trick is to deal secretly in trading. The illusionist trades a bird for a flame. The headlines trade a truth for a lie. The conjurer confesses in broad daylight that he is up to something. The journalist insists in print that he isn't. The one is honest about their lies, the other is dishonest about their "facts."
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