I subscribe to both the NYT and Washington Post, and both papers continue to disappoint with their feeble standards on news coverage. Despite many journalistic voices chiming with yours against media’s failures to inform the public, I see no evidence it’s making a difference. So I have to wonder what more can be done.
Jennifer Rubin’s advice to readers is to write letters. That seems more therapeutic for the writer than effective. I subscribe to writers directly who’ve assumed a responsibility to inform-as with your Substack publication, and I learn more about what’s happening in the country through individual journalists than through news organizations. However it takes commitment to be informed this way, more so than when the local paper plus a national paper were all you needed to stay current. And it doesn’t scale.
Any advice on how to address this fundamental issue for democracy? We’re at the tipping point. Once it falls it could take generations to return.
I’ve been noticing this, too. So much so that I am tempted to stop my WP and NYT subscriptions. In fact, I’m am taking a week to see if I can get enough news from NPR and PBS and Substack to keep me informed and involved. If so, bye bye to the WP and the NYT.
I really like, though, the assertion that the 2024 election is not Democratics vs Republicans, but rather Democracy vs Dictatorship. The WP article about how Trump could realistically become a dictator was needed to be written and came at the right time.
Dec 6, 2023·edited Dec 6, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
It's not just Democracy that's for sale. It's world wide: Plutocrats, billionaires, oligarchs, royal families; they all have one thing in common, they always want more money and will do anything to keep it and the power they now thirst for.
Balz's "boss," Jeff Bezos, is mega rich. Though he and the Post tend to be left of center politically, Bezos contributes to PACs. Over half of Congress is made up of millionaires, most that when elected. Rick Scott is the richest with $200,327,223, he of the largest Medicare fraud case in US history. My millionaire district rep , Vern Buchanan , serves on the House Ways and Means Committee,maker of tax policy. So, what we have going is millionaires making policies that benefit the millionaires, billionaires who put them in office. Quid pro quo and birds of a feather. Legislation has been passed in all directions, from transparency to Citizens United.Term limits would help solve the problem. But powers that be will not eliminate their jobs, so that is a "duh." Maybe repeal the Corporations are persons,another "duh."My dad taught a class called Problems in Democracy. It's the best form of gov't, but the hardest to maintain. We have come a long way , election wise, from Washington giving out whiskey and Harrison's front porch campaign.
The MSM has been failing us for decades. It is now a feature, not a bug. New things are emerging (think Pro Publica and the like) but not yet impactful enough. Why? Conglomeration and the dismantling of cross ownership rules, is a large part. Bigger is not better.
I subscribe to both the Post and the Times. I've been critical of both for some times about their political reporting. Often the headline has little relation to the story, and often the important part of the story is deep down toward the end. I often wonder if it's on purpose, and wonder what's the motive.
I subscribe to both the NYT and Washington Post, and both papers continue to disappoint with their feeble standards on news coverage. Despite many journalistic voices chiming with yours against media’s failures to inform the public, I see no evidence it’s making a difference. So I have to wonder what more can be done.
Jennifer Rubin’s advice to readers is to write letters. That seems more therapeutic for the writer than effective. I subscribe to writers directly who’ve assumed a responsibility to inform-as with your Substack publication, and I learn more about what’s happening in the country through individual journalists than through news organizations. However it takes commitment to be informed this way, more so than when the local paper plus a national paper were all you needed to stay current. And it doesn’t scale.
Any advice on how to address this fundamental issue for democracy? We’re at the tipping point. Once it falls it could take generations to return.
I’ve been noticing this, too. So much so that I am tempted to stop my WP and NYT subscriptions. In fact, I’m am taking a week to see if I can get enough news from NPR and PBS and Substack to keep me informed and involved. If so, bye bye to the WP and the NYT.
I really like, though, the assertion that the 2024 election is not Democratics vs Republicans, but rather Democracy vs Dictatorship. The WP article about how Trump could realistically become a dictator was needed to be written and came at the right time.
It's not just Democracy that's for sale. It's world wide: Plutocrats, billionaires, oligarchs, royal families; they all have one thing in common, they always want more money and will do anything to keep it and the power they now thirst for.
Balz's "boss," Jeff Bezos, is mega rich. Though he and the Post tend to be left of center politically, Bezos contributes to PACs. Over half of Congress is made up of millionaires, most that when elected. Rick Scott is the richest with $200,327,223, he of the largest Medicare fraud case in US history. My millionaire district rep , Vern Buchanan , serves on the House Ways and Means Committee,maker of tax policy. So, what we have going is millionaires making policies that benefit the millionaires, billionaires who put them in office. Quid pro quo and birds of a feather. Legislation has been passed in all directions, from transparency to Citizens United.Term limits would help solve the problem. But powers that be will not eliminate their jobs, so that is a "duh." Maybe repeal the Corporations are persons,another "duh."My dad taught a class called Problems in Democracy. It's the best form of gov't, but the hardest to maintain. We have come a long way , election wise, from Washington giving out whiskey and Harrison's front porch campaign.
The MSM has been failing us for decades. It is now a feature, not a bug. New things are emerging (think Pro Publica and the like) but not yet impactful enough. Why? Conglomeration and the dismantling of cross ownership rules, is a large part. Bigger is not better.
I subscribe to both the Post and the Times. I've been critical of both for some times about their political reporting. Often the headline has little relation to the story, and often the important part of the story is deep down toward the end. I often wonder if it's on purpose, and wonder what's the motive.