The “Fourth Estate,” which is the press and news media in general, seems to be unpopular because of the perception of bias or unfair representation of certain topics, individuals, or organizations. There is a feeling of mistrust in their reporting and the stories they are presenting. People feel that the Fourth Estate is trying to influence opinion rather than just present facts in a nonbiased manner. In addition, there have been news outlets caught fabricating stories and scandals around them that don’t have information to back it up. This further creates a lack of trust in the press. With the prevalence of social media, people are more likely to get their news from other sources and discount the news media as a source of reliable information. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to phase most of the major players at all … they remarkably stick to their preconceived notions, regardless of the large body of facts that are literally a few clicks away on the Internet.
David Catron @ The American Spectator illustrates…
If you spend much time perusing the musings of political pundits you may have noticed the emergence of a subgenre of opinion writing that devotes itself to the following question: Why is President Biden so unpopular? A recent contribution to this growing body of work was offered a few days ago in Newsweek. Matt Robison, a former congressional staffer turned podcaster, laments that Biden boasts a long list of “massive achievements” yet somehow endures historically low approval ratings.
For anyone rude enough to ask for examples of these achievements, Robison credits Biden for the low unemployment rate, though most economists trace it to the COVID-driven drop in the labor force participation rate. Oddly, he fails to connect the President’s policies to the continuing decline in real wages, the slow economic growth rate, or the stubborn persistence of inflation. Robison does praise him for “the most successful American vaccination program in history,” despite the vexing fact that he inherited it from his predecessor.
Catron continues by citing numerous examples of others who “credit Biden for accomplishments that did not result from his policies.” The article’s factual observations are concluded with the perfect “Open Letter” to the Fourth Estate…
This points to the real conundrum the corporate media can’t solve. They keep reporting that Biden is a success but no one believes them.
This suggests that the Fourth Estate should focus less on why Biden is so unpopular and ask, “Why are we so unpopular?” A recent report produced by Gallup and the Knight Foundation revealed the following: “Only 26% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the news media, the lowest level Gallup and Knight have recorded in the past five years, while 53% hold an unfavorable view.” Here’s some advice that may reverse a trend that will destroy what remains of the free press: Stop lying to the public and start doing your stinking jobs.
The entire piece deserves to be the best thing you can read on the Internet today! Just do it.