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Article in the Washington Post by Erik Wemple, 9/16/24

Question: “Is corporate media affecting reporting?”

“It appears that a recent and dramatic shift has occurred in major press and media entitles like the NY Times, CNN, Washington Post. The appearance seems to be a pursuit of the attention grabbing controversy issue over straight-forward journalism. My theory is that ad revenue has become a priority and this shift in approach is corporate driven. Thoughts?”

Answer:  “. . . this critique has been leveled at most, if not all, mainstream media outlets over the course of the internet era — nearly the past three decades . . . Traffic imperatives, indeed, pushed news outlets to splinter their output into traditional reporting/big projects as well as blog posts, short analysis pieces . . . ”

Question: “Why is Trump coverage lacking?”

“Why is the media not exposing Trump’s obvious lies and dictatorial rhetoric. Is it because they lean over backwards to appear “impartial”? We are obviously being threatened with a dangerous outcome, isn’t it the media’s job to inform?”

Answer:  “it is indeed the media’s job to inform the public about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies. It’s something that, in my view, the media has done quite well:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/15/trump-authoritarianism-media-stakes/  .”

Full article:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/16/erik-wemple-media-live-chat/