J. F. Shumate

The Fourth Estate Is Complicit In Our To Our Presidential Election Crisis

The Press Is A Mess

You should be seriously concerned about the press. The Fourth Estate is supposed to be the guardian of our freedom, exposing corruption and worse, regardless of political party. Regardless of your politics, it’s obvious the media is a mess.

The only time politicians lie is when their lips are moving. You can’t fact-check fast enough to catch them all. The media was “shocked” by the sheer volume of lies in the recent debate. It’s a sad thing that journalists are this naïve.

This week, the general press awoke to Joe Biden’s apparent cognitive decline and is now hounding him and his staff for accountability. It’s now okay to do so because the wind is blowing that way. Just where have all these journalists been for the last two years?

Where Have All The Journalists Gone?

Years ago, young college reporters wanted to be real journalists with a burning desire to expose political malfeasance or crack the big story. That was the journalism that produced Woodward and Bernstein. Where has that drive gone? Today’s journalists are now effectively part of the political parties’ media teams, rewriting press releases, posting their curated videos, and asking “authorized” questions provided by politician’s “handlers.”

Major media outlets are either far left or far right with little middle ground, each pandering to their audience. We don’t believe them because they promote their political position and do not provide straightforward reporting. They never showed body bags arriving from Afghanistan as the media did during the Vietnam War. Where is today’s David Halberstam or Walter Cronkite?

If the media played on an even field, they might have brought candidates’ sins, lies, and crimes to light so that citizens would believe it. Don’t get mad about Trump or Biden. With a properly operating press, neither one would be their party candidate.

Universities Are Turning Out Social Media Hacks

Today’s journalism students want to sit at a desk and find stories online. It is so bad that J-Schools are forced to teach students how to go out and interview people! They graduate with a Journalism degree with no concept of what it means.

These are not journalists. This generation was raised on social media. They want to build their brand to monetize their writing. Their nirvana is being a “social influencer.” They are photogenic, social media sycophants pandering to their audiences. Their laziness, personal politics, and ineptitude have resulted in two unacceptable Presidential candidates.

Be angry at the press and Universities, but not with these candidates. Until we have a proper Fourth Estate, we will continue to have mediocre leaders. Our freedom depends upon the brave force of journalists, free to expose corruption, provide unbiased information, and understand their vital role in our democracy.