2017 was a really tough year for the news media and its credibility. We’ve seen the death of independent, investigative journalism this past year.
There have been a lot of stories “labeled” as investigative reporting but do they really have the evidence and are they all leaning in one particular way? How are conservatives are reacting to this? William Buckley for decades talked about how the mainstream media was disinclined to fairly and accurately report conservative policies. We see the proof of that with high profile mistake after high profile mistake by the mainstream media.
There is a lot of discussion about whether the media would take a hit from the President targeting these news organizations, and yet you see that their ratings are going up and they’re drawing a lot more viewers because people are really interested in politics in 2017. So perversely the news media are losing their credibility, but at the same time they’re drawing a lot of people who really are caring about this debate and want to understand the policy and the thinking behind the arguments of the time. It is a confusing situation where you have more interest and the mainstream media have more an obligation to be objective, and yet you see that it is less objective.
President Trump didn’t coin the phrase “fake news” — the mainstream news media did. But he took it and was able to turn it successfully against the media.
I was on Fox News Media Buzz to discuss.
