Stop Saying the Media Is Biased — the Reality Is Far Worse

By Aaron Kliegman At this point in 2020, it’s outdated to refer to the mainstream media’s “liberal bias.” Frankly, conservatives and Republicans should stop describing the media as “biased” altogether. Such language implies that the media actually reports the news but slants its coverage in favor of Democrats and left-wing positions. In other words, journalists are doing their basic jobs as traditionally understood, just with some degree of bias. This was the case for many years, and it was far from ideal. Indeed, the bias became more severe with time. But the situation today is something different — and much worse. Members of the mainstream media are no longer biased journalists; now, they’re liberal Democrats with press passes. This shift occurred because of two factors: hatred and self-righteous narcissism. Since Donald Trump became a serious contender for president, the media’s understanding of its fundamental purpose and mission has changed. Journalists now see — and portray — themselves as the guardians of American democracy, protecting us all from Trumpian dictatorship. Every week there seem to be new warnings in the New York Times, or the Washington Post, or the Atlantic, or on CNN or MSNBC, warning that America is on the verge of authoritarianism under President Trump. Indeed, we read in the most mainstream publications that the 45th president is “doing nothing less than undermining the American system” or that American democracy “may not survive” his presidency. And for some editors, these are understatements. Such views of the president may seem absurd, but remember, the media claims that Trump is comparable to Hitler. Once journalists invoke history’s greatest villain, they toss away all journalistic standards. From there, they can say what they want — such as reporting in North Korea is safer than reporting at the White House. Simply put, the media believes its job is to advocate a cause, not report the news and inform the public (even in a biased way), because the stakes are too high — and because President Trump is too reprehensible. Hence, the various efforts to oust Trump — from championing impeachment to pushing Russiagate down the American people’s throats to the point of nausea. The media’s blatant disregard for objectivity is a genuine problem for the country, not just for those on the political right. A biased press is bad but survivable; a press that doesn’t even pretend to be objective makes it nearly impossible for the country to unite. Americans can’t even agree on what’s fact in a straight-news story following so many false and misleading reports. But this doesn’t matter to the news organizations that loathe President Trump. The executives, the editors, the anchors, the reporters, the commentators — they are all on a mission to destroy the president regardless of the collateral damage. Now, in the last weeks of a presidential campaign, the media of course wants Trump to lose the election. Just look at the media’s coverage over the weekend. On Sunday, a masked President Trump drove by and waved to supporters gathered outside Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was being treated for the coronavirus. Naturally, the media reacted with self-righteous outrage, disgusted that the president didn’t remain in strict quarantine. Remember, this was the same media driving the narrative that President Trump was gravely ill — perhaps too ill to perform his presidential duties. Countless news outlets invoked the 25th Amendment to suggest that deposing the president may be necessary. Many others said that the president’s diagnosis endangered American national security. The president may have done his drive-by greeting regardless, but the media pushed him to show he wasn’t on the verge of death — and then condemned him for it. The great irony here is that the media will miss Donald Trump desperately when he leaves office — whether that’s in three months or four years and three months. Of course, news organizations know that the president is good for business, driving online traffic and viewership. What will the press even do if Joe Biden is president? But more importantly, journalists have become celebrities, even cultural heroes, over the last four years. Just look at CNN’s Jim Acosta. He’s one of many who care more about grandstanding than reporting. They try to outdo each other over who has the best insult for the president — yes, we know he has funny hair — and who can best lecture the White House about American ideals. Because of social media and popular culture’s support for the anti-Trump resistance, these reporters and commentators get to feel like Brad Pitt, even if it requires sacrificing basic journalistic principles. The result is a press that is too often the subject of the news rather than the one simply covering it. This newfound fame and social status wouldn’t be possible without the media changing its fundamental identity from biased reporter to full-on activist. And because of this shift, the media’s identity is now attached to resisting the president. Whenever President Trump leaves office, therefore, the media will have an identity crisis. The press will either need to rein in its ego a bit or look for new Republican monsters to slay. Drunk off their self-perceived importance, most journalists will likely pursue the latter. In doing so, they will further entrench the divisions in American society that they helped create. Order Newt's Latest Book: https://www.gingrich360.com/trump-and-the-american-future