Is Mainstream Media Trying To Kill Us? Absolutely!
Profit-Driven Betrayal of Democratic Ideals
How the Media’s Greed Is Digging Democracy’s Grave
Let’s not waste time pretending the mainstream media is a hapless bystander in democracy’s slow-motion car crash. The evidence is in, and it’s not pretty.
The press, once the self-appointed guardian of truth, has spent the last decade auditioning for the role of democracy’s gravedigger.
The only thing more relentless than their pursuit of “page views” is their ability to feign surprise at the consequences.
The Original Sin: Turning Outrage into Revenue
Remember 2016? The year a reality TV star moonwalked into the White House, powered by a news industry that couldn’t resist the ratings bonanza.
Trump didn’t just run for president; he ran the table on every network executive desperate for a spike in Nielsen numbers. Forget the quaint notion of “earned media.” By the end of the primaries, Trump had racked up an estimated $2 to $3 billion in free coverage.
He was everywhere, all the time, because he was “damn good for CBS,” as one CEO helpfully confessed. The logic was simple: outrage equals eyeballs, and controversy is the new currency.
The result? A spectacular implosion of journalistic gatekeeping, all in the name of quarterly profits.
The Authoritarian Shrug: Journalism’s New Normal
Fast forward to today. Trump is back in office, and his war on the independent press and democratic institutions has only intensified.
The media’s response? A collective shrug, occasionally interrupted by a hand-wringing op-ed or a panel of pundits wondering aloud how things got so bad.
The watchdog has traded its bark for a yawn, content to let democracy’s vital signs flatline as long as the clicks keep coming.
The press, once democracy’s immune system, now seems more interested in selling the disease than finding a cure.
The Ratings Game: When News Became Noise
Let’s be honest: the media’s business model is built on attention, not accuracy. The more divisive, the better.
Why invest in investigative reporting when a viral tweet or a manufactured outrage cycle can deliver the same ad revenue at a fraction of the cost?
The result is a news ecosystem where spectacle trumps substance, and the loudest voices drown out the most important stories.
The press isn’t just failing to hold power to account; it’s actively subsidizing the circus.
The Credibility Crisis: Trust on Life Support
It turns out that treating the public like a captive audience for clickbait has consequences. Trust in the media is now circling the drain, with only about a quarter of Americans expressing any confidence in the press’s ability to report the news fairly.
The rest have voted with their eyeballs, flocking to independent platforms that at least pretend to care about facts. The old media giants, meanwhile, are left wondering why nobody wants to buy what they’re selling.
Enter Independent Media Platforms: The Exodus from the Newsroom
While legacy outlets double down on outrage and spectacle, a new breed of independent journalists is building audiences on platforms like Substack.
Here, writers answer to their readers, not to a boardroom full of ad sales executives. The result? A media landscape that’s more diverse, more transparent, and—crucially—less invested in the ratings game that brought us here in the first place.
The mainstream press, once the gatekeeper of public discourse, now finds itself locked out of the conversation.
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The Final Act: Media’s Relevance Crisis
The irony is almost poetic. In their desperate bid to stay relevant, the media titans have rendered themselves obsolete. The more they chase clicks, the less anyone cares what they have to say. The watchdog didn’t just fall asleep; it sold the house for scrap and moved on to the next trending topic. Democracy, meanwhile, is left to pick up the pieces.
Sources
● Trump v the media: did his tactics mortally wound the fourth estate? - The Guardian
● Trump’s war on media intensifies - City St George’s, University of London
● Trump’s moves against media outlets mirror authoritarian approaches to silencing dissent
● ‘The president is unhinged’: Trump’s online behavior grows increasingly odd - The Guardian
● I’ve covered Trump for years — and I’ve never seen him this scared - Salon.com
● Legal experts condemn Apple bowing to White House’s request to remove ICE tracking app
So true. I worked in Network News for 33 years. They prided themselves on their “objective” journalism. There was a plaque to Edward R. Murrow, who helped bring down McCarthy, in the lobby. Not sure it is still there. Everyone talked about the 4th estate as the backbone of democracy. All a myth.
Can we be honest about the Substack platform though. Yes, in our progressive bubble there are some good writers. A lot of good people. But substack takes a cut of everyone’s subscriptions. And how is anyone able to subscribe to all these great writers without going “bankrupt”. And we don’t usually see it, because the algorithm works so well, but there are fascist bubbles and outright antisemitic bubbles and genocide denier bubbles. Oh, and even on this “progressive bubble”, someone called me a Kike for pointing out their blatant antisemitism. All allowed in the name of “free speech” but really all about substack profit.