This piece is well written and comes from the Hill. Here is the link:
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/525004-the-tribal-journalism-of-cable-news-is-at-a-crossroads
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Okay, now that you have read what Joe Ferullo says,
here are my own thoughts:
From the conception of radio back in the 20s, and subsequent growth of television programming beginning in the 50s, we had a thing called a Fairness Doctrine.
Basically, this doctrine called for news to be called news, and for it to be kept above the ratings - more a public service offered by a free press on a new media platform. Revenue was generated by other programs, and while there were commercials on news, the thing that drove viewership was the thoroughness of the presentation, and the quality of the presentation in terms of being factual.
Guess which party ended all that? You got it - Republicans! Ronald Reagan let the Fairness Doctrine die in 1987. News shows slowly evolved to become entertainment. They did this by increasing a 'gotcha' approach to generate controversy, which then drove up advertising revenue.
The birth of AM talk radio, and the birth and growth of Fox 'news' happened according to a plan set forth by Lewis Powell in a manifesto he wrote to the US Chamber of Commerce in 1971.
What made Powell write what he wrote, and the US Chamber take it to heart? Profits. The quest for more and more money.
We often lament that healthcare, military spending, and much of our politics supports profits over people. The interests of billionaires, corporations, and shareholders are held above those of the people, and this is enforced by the media itself driving up the costs for candidates to be elected.
You all know this, right? You want to start ending it, get rid of Citizens United, reimpose a Fairness Doctrine that defines what news is, and require networks who are using the airwaves, whether radio, television, or wifi, to offer real, factual news, treat it as that, and report it as that.