It would be easy to pile onto CNN for its disastrous decision to hold a
campaign rally town hall for Donald Trump on Wednesday night. So let’s do
it!

Just kidding, of course. You come here expecting smarter takes, and that’s
what you are going to get.

But first, let’s get one thing out of the way: Yes, from a journalistic
point of view, CNN deserves plenty of blame. What exactly is the value of
giving the guy who tried to overthrow the duly elected government of the
United States (and who also happens to have been found guilty of sexual
assault this week) a platform to do what he does best: lie? And why stack
the audience with partisans who ensure that the event would devolve into a
spectacle?

Great questions, but there is just one problem: The premise is wrong. This
was no journalistic event; it was a commercial one. The value CNN was
looking for was money.

And from that perspective, the “town hall” was a smashing success.

But don’t take our word for it.

https://whowhatwhy.org/culture/journalism-media/journalism-is-too-sick-to-heal-itself/

Here is what Chris Licht, CNN’s CEO, told his staff the next morning:
“America was served very well by what we did last night.” He is correct,
if you replace “America” with “our shareholders.” Licht was also thrilled
that CNN “made a LOT of news.”

Now, you may recall that it’s not the media’s job to “make news.” In any
case, Trump telling a bunch of lies isn’t exactly news.

But that’s only one side of this story. The other is that most of the
people in the media who are wringing their hands over this are doing
exactly the same thing.

Because, let’s face it, hardly any news outlet is “serving America well”
these days.

Instead, journalism is failing America.

Even worse, it’s by choice.

The main reason is that covering the news is now purely a business… and
doing it well is bad for business (we’ll revisit why in a minute because
chances are that you, our reader, are part of the problem).

Whereas journalism as a whole used to be something akin to a public good —
and the profession itself was a calling and not a way to get rich — it’s
now just about money. Part of the problem is who owns media outlets now.
It used to be people who were more committed to covering the news than
turning a huge profit. And journalists used to care more about getting the
story than building their “brand.”

Then there is the issue of how news outlets now make their money. Like
with so many other things that ail society, social media plays a major
role here.

Back in the day, if you delivered quality to America’s doorsteps in the
morning, people gave you their quarter each day and businesses advertised.

Now, however, speed matters above all else. That is one of the reasons why
quality has deteriorated. Providing important background or nuances just
slows down reporters who want to get their stories up first to get those
precious pageviews.

And if reporters do get great scoops, they often hold them back for a book.

All of these are choices.

But that’s not the only problem that plagues journalism. There is also the
incompetence of reporters who have either not figured out that one side is
no longer acting in good faith, or who have figured that out but have not
found effective ways of dealing with it (of course, there is also the
possibility that they just don’t care).

As a result, even in the “good” outlets, you get a bunch of
“both-sidesing” that is deteriorating quality and leaves neither side
happy. The folks on the right will always feel aggrieved, while the ones
on the left (who are on average much more educated) are aghast at how bad
of a job news outlets are doing.

Essentially, publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, The
Guardian, etc., are trying to make everybody happy and therefore bend over
backwards to accommodate the very people who think they are “fake news”
and will never change their minds about this. In the process, these news
outlets, which show that they are capable of producing good journalism,
are alienating the people that could be their audience.

This ridiculous “we have to hear what the people who lie to us constantly
have to say” spiel is especially a problem when it comes to covering
things like mass shootings. If journalists don’t call out the people who
are responsible for what is happening and only offer “thoughts and
prayers,” then non-crazy people will no longer want to tune in.

At the same time, this approach to journalism makes it nearly impossible
to cover some of the most important issues, such as climate change. You
can’t do a good job if you give credence to the side that denies that it’s
a problem (or even real).

Imagine what that would look like if, for example, you were to cover the
coronation of King Chuck III but feel compelled to give a voice to people
who say that the United Kingdom doesn’t exist.

That brings us to the next problem: Today’s media doesn’t cover what the
people need to know; it covers what it thinks the people want to know. And
that’s why you get wall-to-wall coverage of nonsense like the coronation.

You Are Part of the Problem

However, not all of this is the media’s fault. Journalism also has an
audience problem.

First of all, with an abundance of content available for free online,
audiences no longer pay for quality. This is what we meant earlier when we
said that quality journalism is bad business. If more readers/viewers were
willing to pay for excellent reporting, then more outlets would deliver it.

While actual quality is lacking in today’s journalism, there is an
“illusion of quality.” What we mean is that people think they are getting
good journalism because it affirms what they believe. There is no better
example than Fox “News.”

Everybody who lives in the real world knows that Fox delivers partisan
garbage. But the people who buy into the alternate reality that the
network peddles believe that it offers bold journalism and is the only
place that “tackles real stories.”

In other words, now that it’s so easy for people to tailor their news
consumption to their beliefs, the media cannot do one of its core jobs of
confronting people with inconvenient truths. This is the reason why
Republicans are not perturbed by Trump’s legal problems: They don’t even
know they exist because the “news” they consume doesn’t cover them.

You Are the Only Solution

All of these problems have become worse over the past decades, and it is
apparent that the media won’t fix itself.

Therefore, it is up to the consumers of news to be part of the solution.
Specifically, that means to “vote with your eyeballs.” Stop watching CNN
to send a message. Read longer, high-quality stories and then share them..
Sign up for newsletters and substacks.

Support good journalism!

Because unless those making money off of your news consumption realize
that they will profit more by providing quality instead of garbage, things
are only going to get worse.

### - spot on observations... the News, as it used to be that is, long
gone only to be replaced by 24/7 endless mindless drivel wherein any
actual news is quite deliberately buried beneath a sea of crap & bs more
in-favour of the ratings...

the now old idea/concept of once hard-bitten/cynical investigative news
reporters who'll do anything for a good story, lost & forgotten in time,
the freedom of the press, and all the rest of it, reduced to mere empty
words/lip-service...

a reminder of how things 'used' to be (although it's always actually been
compromised/censored in one way or another) perhaps revealed in this old
uk 1961 disaster movie, a story (from a newsroom's pov; ironically the
daily express who's now one of the worst offenders lol) about the end of
the world due to nuclear tests that knocks the world off its axis, a bit
dated now but still a good movie heh :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBHWWnzjDsI

The day the earth caught fire --1961

perforce these days, ALL the above newshounds would likely be quickly
sued, sanctioned, accused of treason and even assassinated, for reporting
any 'real' news, it's all been completely watered down by comparison, see?

enjoy ;)