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'Here Are the Superheroes To Come and Save Us'
Media Waste No Time Fawning Over Biden
McLeod, Alan http://www.mintpressnews.com/joe-biden-bias-media-coverage/274655/
Publisher: Mint Press News
Date Written: 22/02/2021
Year Published: 2021
Resource Type: Article
McLeod discusses the celebration of the Biden administration by prominent corporate media that has come at a cost of little scrutiny. He argues that the country's journalists should see themselves as the government's adversaries, rather than their allies.
Abstract:
Excerpt:
Trust in media has been falling since the 1970s, and particularly in the last few years. Part of that is due to ultra partisan reporting, a practice pioneered by Fox News in the 1990s. What Rupert Murdoch realized was that capturing a loyal following from a small segment of the population could actually be more profitable than trying to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. Since then, Fox's model has been copied by other outlets, notably MSNBC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, who have positioned themselves as anti-Trump and pro-Democrat news sources. The result has been to create an extremely polarized media ecosystem, with each side championing their leaders and not willing to listen to the other. Unsurprisingly, Fox has been highly critical of the new president, with top host Sean Hannity attacking Biden, claiming he is physically and mentally unfit for office. The country should be asking tonight, Mr. Unity, Mr. Frail, Weak, Cognitively Struggling Joe, I know this is past your bedtime,' he opined.
This has seriously deleterious effects on the political system. An adversarial media is the cornerstone of any functioning democracy. Thomas Jefferson once remarked that "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government." I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. Unfortunately, if Biden's first few days are any indicator, the press will choose to prop up rather than scrutinize the new president. Media that behaved as attack dogs against Trump for four years (unless he was carrying out aggressive actions abroad) are likely to turn into lap dogs now that there is a Democrat in the White House -- something that is unlikely to be a positive thing for the country.
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