The public doesn’t understand the risks of a Trump victory. That’s the media’s fault | Margaret Sullivan
www.theguardian.com
With democracy in the balance, the press must relay the crucial importance of this election and the dangers of a Trump win

The press must get across to American citizens the crucial importance of this election and the dangers of a Trump win. They don’t need to surrender their journalistic independence to do so or be “in the tank” for Biden or anyone else.

It’s now clearer than ever that Trump, if elected, will use the federal government to go after his political rivals and critics, even deploying the military toward that end. His allies are hatching plans to invoke the Insurrection Act on day one.

  • @spider
    11•6 months ago

    They are not incentivized to care about educating anyone; entertainment pays the bills.

    Exactly. Back in the day, news divisions of corporations often operated at a loss because news was regarded as a public service; now they’re expected to always turn a profit.

      • @[email protected]English
        0•6 months ago

        The Internet destroyed it. This entire thread is pure amateur hour when it comes to knowledge about the news business. US journalism has tons of problems, but they aren’t related to anything people in this thread are talking about.

        • @spider
          6•6 months ago

          This entire thread is pure amateur hour when it comes to knowledge about the news business

          From April 12, 1988:

          NBC News does not operate at a profit and has, in fact, lost as much as $90 million annually in recent years. The news division will also operate at a loss this year and next. However, in the business plan presented to Mr. Welch last month, the projection was for NBC News to be near the break-even point by 1990.

          Source: New York Times, via Internet Archive