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.

  • Bye@lemmy.world
    1065·
    1 year ago

    Because the media want him to run. Trump brings ratings. They are not incentivized to care about educating anyone; entertainment pays the bills.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      731·
      1 year ago

      Also because the media is owned by billionaires, who skew towards favoring fascism as a matter of class solidarity.

      • LillyPip@lemmy.ca
        431·
        1 year ago

        Also because billionaires tend to be sociopaths since that kind of wealth hoarding isn’t really possible unless you have little empathy for others. Sociopaths love fascism because it lets them take what they want by force, ignore social norms, and enslave or genocide anyone who they deem an impediment.

      • hansl@lemmy.world
        9·
        1 year ago

        That I will not understand. Fascists are opportunists first. If they see a reason to hate on some billionaire they’ll eat him faster than the poor will. They don’t care that you gave them millions in campaign money, if your kid is gay and you say “maybe it’s okay to have gay kids” they’ll turn on you.

        • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
          16·
          1 year ago

          They’re one in the same. The opprotunist fascists are the billionaires. The same sociopathy that rewards capitalists also gives rise to fascists. Its hand in hand.

    • spider@lemmy.nz
      121·
      1 year 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.

        • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.idEnglish
          21·
          1 year 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@lemmy.nz
            6·
            1 year 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