Will Bunch expresses what I’ve been thinking since Trump was elected. American democracy is under attack from within. The fascists who yearn for an authoritarian government in the media are promoting it, and the media who supposedly don’t support it fail to recognize it. They are busy trying to follow the political playbook of the 20th century.
This is an incredibly short sighted, simplistic view of journalism. If for profit companies don’t pay journalists, then who does? Good luck crowd sourcing an international news bureau. If everyone is the press, then no one is because how do you know who’s telling the truth and who isn’t?
You act like all companies are evil and all individuals and co-ops are somehow pure of heart. It would be the same shit disinfo, just with worse production value.
Not to mention the current American political climate was started in the mid 90’s by Newt Gingrich. He created the philosophy of “party before country,” along with the launch of 24/7 news networks, which is largely responsible for the mess you see today. ⁸ It’s going to take the same amount of time that started this mess to reverse it.
PS: Let’s not forget about the “my way, or the highway” generation, Boomers. Once most of them are out of office we’ll start to see the trend reverse.
Honestly not sure where people come up with theories like this. What about the various Red Scares and McCarthyism? Variations on the same theme go back throughout history - the phenomenon isn’t about some unique American exceptionalist trait, it’s a consequence of the tide of the avarice of rulers meeting the tide of the mindless tendencies of the masses towards group mentalities. Power necessitates a way to gather support and creating an in-group and out-group accomplishes that.
Because it’s factual history at this point…
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/07/07/newt-gingrich-republican-party
https://history.princeton.edu/about/publications/burning-down-house-newt-gingrich-fall-speaker-and-rise-new-republican-party
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/newt-gingrich-says-youre-welcome/570832/
Right, there are fundamentally different motivations and attract different types of people. Roger Ailes for instance would not be attracted to a journalist coop.
What would be the motivation for individual journalists to spread disinfo? Sure some will, but a few people spreading disinfo is or even many uncoordinated people spewing BS is very different from a massive corporation with specific goals and the means to coordinate and spread misinfo to achieve those goals.
Everyone has an agenda, whether it’s ideological, malice, etc.