The Reuters Institute just released a survey of 92,000 news consumers in 46 countries and here’s the headline. Just 29 percent of consumers trust the media in the United States, placing U.S. media dead last in the world. According to Reuters more consumers trust the media in Nigeria and Columbia than they do in the United States.
The report is shocking. Except for those on the far left who think it fashionable to hate their country, it is generally true that Americans want to be the best at everything. The fact that for the most part we have been for most of the past century is evident whenever you travel abroad. TV newscasts all over the world directly imitate newscasts in the United States. They want to be like us. (Or at least they did.)
Though we should be disturbed by the Reuters survey we shouldn’t be surprised. Not when NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt gives a speech recently and says,
I think it’s become clearer that fairness is overrated. The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in.”
The towering arrogance embodied in that statement is breathtaking. The world that Holt and his media peers find themselves in is one occupied by a tiny, elite circle of coastal sophisticates who are forced to share a country with an unwashed horde of unsophisticated, low-brow flyover rubes.
AKA: us.
Disgusting as that belief is, at least give Holt credit. We know that he and his peers have felt this way for quite a long time now. Kudos to Holt for finally saying it out loud. We can all stop pretending now.
And lest you think I have fixated on one remark from one man in an attempt to paint with too broad a brush, consider this statement from communications professor emeritus Ted Glasser of Stanford University.
Journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it’s hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.”
In other words, as long as the reporting advances a worthy goal as exclusively defined by the reporter and his organization, the actual objective truth of a story may be safely ignored.
Or put more simply, truth be damned.
This elite disregard for objectivity and fairness goes a long way to explain our sharply polarized politics. Elite journalists have taken it upon themselves to decide what is acceptable policy and who is acceptable to hold office. Those of us who hold other ideas are either contemptuously ignored or malevolently set upon.
The brand of big-league American journalism that we all grew up with, and the journalism that is explicitly protected by the first amendment to the Constitution, is by the practitioners’ own admission, dead and gone. The Reuters Institute survey confirms it.
A press that reports the doings of government without fear or favor is essential to a healthy and prosperous republic. That most Americans no longer trust it to do so has grave implications.
You’re absolutely right,whether it be liberal leaning or conservative, All mainstream media is GUILTY! “TRUTH BE DAMNED.” As soon as majority recognizes their(all) guilty then maybe….. na it’s over,to many couldn’t bring themselves to do that, to much like admitting at least to a degree you’ve been had.No turning back now, FAKE NEWS ! So much damage done,so much.
Excellent column Mr. Gleiser. Well said.
In my humble opinion, this is what we as Americans who love our country* (*i.e. our constitutional republic) must do… seek out those sources of news where truth can still be found and glean from them an accurate appraisal the news. One thing is for sure as you noted, you can’t rely on the anchors of legacy news networks who hate America. A start in the right direction is to find journalist who cherish the U.S.A., and avoid those who despise it.
“Life, Liberty, & Levin,” “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” and “Greg Kelly Reports” are just a few of places I trust for news. Perhaps all who read this may benefit from their reporting also.
The curriculum required for a journalism degree is so unchallenging, it is a magnet for the lazy and uninspired. These qualities, along with a large dose of arrogance, allow the Leftist professors to easily mold students into stenographers who are posing as “journalists”. Of course this is a generalization, but the honored profession of being watchdogs against political tyranny has been transformed into being lapdogs for those who are aligned with the same Leftist philosophy as their professors. The examples cited in this essay accurately reflect the results of a long-term plan to shape the minds of the electorate; unfortunately, this effort has been largely ignored by Conservatives. Maybe the level of distrust that Americans are now expressing will be the first step in reviving true journalism! Wouldn’t that be refreshing!
I found an archived article from 2015 about the state of the election of 2016, concerned if Hillary prevailed over Trump. We are facing the same concerns now, with evidence our fears were warranted. That is the definition of insanity! Have we learned NOTHING??!! Only now, as you point out, the media is shame/blame-less in it’s complicity perpetuating the myths that government can make it better. They no longer hide their hatred of republicans. Lives are literally ruined because of the actions of the democrats. I am done “playing nice” and not saying the “mean words” out loud. We are being obliterated because of it. Benjamin Franklin, upon exiting the Constitutional Convention, stated that we now have a republic, IF we can fight to keep it. The fears he had then are even more apparent today. The term “fight” can mean different things to different people obviously! How hard do you intend to struggle to defend what we have worked for 245 years to build? Do we allow the teacher’s union to decide what our children are taught? Do we continue to allow millions of people to migrate here illegally? Do we continue to allow liberal opinion to control the legal system, preventing ANY punishment for violating the law? Do we continue to allow someone to tell us how things are or will you open your eyes and see for yourself? “You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32
Link to article referenced above:
https://constitutioncenter.org/learn/educational-resources/historical-documents/perspectives-on-the-constitution-a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it
Richard and Ron make a good points. Journalism is indeed a refuge for those with little going for them, especially the lazy. Such people are easily molded by activist college professors. However, not every journalist is such. There is still good journalism and there are still some good journalists. We just have to work harder to find them, while recognizing that most of what is out there “reporting” is dross and not gold.
Richard mentions several sources he trusts for news. I would add OAN Channel (One America News) and the Epoch Times (internet postings and an excellent and substantial weekly newspaper to which I subscribe). Both report stories even Fox won’t cover, and both do it with honesty and accuracy.
Assuming we as a nation retain freedom of speech–which may be up for grabs given the woke agenda–plenty of reliable alternatives to the dud media will spring up in addition to the few we already enjoy.
Buddy, I’m glad you pointed out the additional information sources of OAN Channel (One America News) and The Epoch Times. I concur. Both of these are topflight news outlets you can trust.
Holt finally outed the mainscream media!