Journalism schools may someday point to 2023 as the year of a final moral collapse for the corporate media – a point of no return ultimately reached after years of ethical decline and loss of credibility with the public.
This year, perhaps more than any other in history, America’s once lionized major news organizations proved they were not about “the news” at all, but about the protection of those in power and partisan politicians they favored.
It is not that I disagree with this concept or the idea that there is a moral collapse within the mainstream media. I agree wholeheartedly with the author who makes a lot of good points. But the reality is that we generally hold people accountable for things that they do, rather than things that they do not do. The old school media being dead wrong about certain stories can rile people up, especially if they are exposed for knowingly reporting something incorrect. But it is always difficult to hold people accountable for something that they didn't do, even if we expect that they probably should have.
The failure of the media today isn't reporting false stories (although they do that too), but rather the fact that they simply pick and choose what stories people should be reading or viewing and what stories should be ignored. Moreover, with the manner that people tend to migrate to media camps that reinforce their narrative, simply keeps this strategic concept alive and well. If you know your readers would rather read an obscure legal analyst provide insight about an upcoming Trump legal issue than read something about Hunter Biden's legal issues, then as a business model you probably should give them non-stop dirt about Trump. None of these people will give a bigger hoot if you fail to report on the latest Biden scandal.
Meanwhile, you will find other media outlets reporting 24-7 on the various scandals surrounding Biden and other Democrats, while pushing the narrative that Trump is simply being railroaded by liberal witch hunts. Those who read these outlets will believe just as strongly that they are given the real news. Well, probably because this is much closer to the real truth all things considered.
My phone has a newsfeed that for the life of me continues to provide me with two or three stories everyday about Trump and his legal fights with New York, Georgia, and Jack Smith. These stories will dominate my feed regardless of whether or not there is anything new or tangible to report. I will literally get stories that appear to be nothing more than a legal opinion from someone I have never heard of as if that person's opinion is the big news of the day. No matter how many times I swipe left and go to the main news area and read about something Biden related, my feed continues in the same direction. Trump, Trump and more Trump.
In this case, this news feed is not really interested in finding out what I care about. It is very much interested in pushing me into a particular direction. If that was the only news I got, I would think Trump is the new Al Capone and Biden is a squeaky-clean FDR reincarnated. If that was all I knew and someone came along and tried to tell me that Jan 6th was not a bloody insurrection or that Joe Biden was the real criminal, I would shut them off as being off their rocker. I am not sure if there could be enough "evidence" provided that I could even consider any other position as I would have been conditioned by my own access to news to believe the opposite.
This is the underlying problem and why the media will continue to get away with simply carrying water for their favorite politicians. Not only will they continue to get away with being political minions, but it will continue to become more normalized. Today's journalism major is being taught by professors who believe that objectivity is not necessary or even could be a "hindrance" to good journalism. They are being taught to be activist for a cause and to use their power of the pen not to spread the truth, but to spread favorable rhetoric for their favored ideal. So why should someone graduating with at journalism degree give a bigger hoot when they are criticized for not reporting objectively about something political? In their minds they are just being criticized for doing their jobs by people who are on the wrong side of the issues.
Obviously, the net results here will be a slow-moving reconciliation between traditional news media and the partisan political blogger. Eventually there will be no difference between the Washington Post and The Daily Kos or Fox News and Red State. Moreover, there will be no expectation for any difference between the two. Our national objective news media will cease to be a real thing, and this unfortunately is by design. Once it is gone (if it even exists today) I doubt it will ever come back.
We also just learned recently (for a fact) that Biden pressured Garland to prosecute Trump, prompting the special counsel move to go with Jack Smith who is known as a rogue prosecutor who will do anything to prosecute and convict (honest or not).
Maybe they should hold the NFL draft prior to the bowl games and provide insurance for the top draft choices, so they don't have to worry about an injury in the last game. If you are a first round draft pick, you get your first-year salary paid by the insurance if something happens. I don't recall the last time anyone suffered a "career" ending injury in a Bowl game.
FSU had about half of their defensive starters opt out of playing and in some cases had true freshmen playing in their place... I heard that and didn't bother to watch the game. Obviously, they had no interest in playing that bowl game. Same thing with Ohio State playing a true freshman at QB who never played a snap prior to the bowl game. While Ohio State has most of their defense playing, it doesn't help when your offense scores 3 points. While I am not a fan of the 12 team playoffs, at least it might give the best players on those twelve teams incentive to play. I suppose a few of them might still opt out, but when…
And it's not just the media, look back at the FBI in 2017:
The FBI's Briefing On GOP Baseball Shooting Couldn't Be More Bizarre (thefederalist.com)
"President Biden granted nine interviews after Hunter Biden first pled guilty to tax crimes in June 2023. In those nine interviews, he faced *zero* questions about his son's growing legal woes, House GOP findings, IRS whistleblower claims of the DOJ, etc. https://t.co/vQBT7vf7ge" / X (twitter.com)
The new "don't ask" "don't tell"