"If this story is true..."

Every reporter that I heard on TV prefaced their comments with "if this story is true".

It was not a failure of journalism that they discussed this story. It was a success that they were able to discuss it and to put it within its proper context within 24 hours.

There have been hundreds of stories about Trump and the Russians in the last two years that have been debated longer on the cable news shows. This story was a bombshell. Naturally they were going to discuss it.

Also, it is not surprising that Trump and his supporters would attempt to define it as some great failure of the "fake news". It was not. It may have been a mistake to come out with the story in the manner that BuzzFeed did, but an open and frank discussion over the last 24 hours is a positive development for the media.

The preface, "if this story is true", is a warning to everyone to not take it too seriously.