I love journalism. But it concerns me how out of control the media is right now in this election cycle. In the Biden news conference last week, they acted like rabid animals towards Biden when he spoke, responding to the Special Prosecutors report which called him a “sympathetic elderly gentleman with memory issues.” The press leaned over guard rails, yelling loudly and aggressively at the President. They were out for blood.
As much as I want to continue to harp on the age issue, it isn’t helpful. But what I think might be good to think about is how the press is behaving. We can recall in 2016 how the media virtually gave candidate Trump free air time because he was a spectacle. It made for good ratings. Much has been said about how it helped Trump win in 2016 (and of course other factors like the demonization of Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders spoiler behavior). So, is the press over-correcting by NOT covering how bad and threatening Trump is? It’s not being covered enough how he lies repeatedly, has a poor grasp of simple facts that a presidential candidate should have, and seriously threatens his adversaries. Remember when Hillary tripped during her campaign for President? It was front page news. If Trump garbles sentences unintelligably, we are so used to it that they don’t cover it. My hope is that most Americans get their news from a variety of sources and make informed decisions. I can dream.
I have worked in media my entire career and can see that it’s struggling to survive in the incarnation I have come to know it. It is evolving, and it’s not clear what it will be. The New Yorker goes into great detail on this in an interesting article, which I ran across moments ago after I started writing this letter (I guess we think similarly). The clammoring nature of the Biden Press conference the other day is a reflection of the desperation that news sites are experiencing. More than ever, they need “the scoop.”
We still need journalists, just not that kind. The author of The New Yorker article I reference above, Clare Malone, states,
“Journalism requires a peculiar mix of skepticism and earnestness; as journalists, after all, we consider ourselves integral to the functioning of civic society, even if much of society doesn’t particularly like us….The business models that will sustain journalism in the future won’t be perfect. They’ll leave people out who need good-quality news the most. They will probably cater to older, wealthier men who (for now) make up the demographic most likely to pay for news. There will be idiocy and the enablement of rich idiots. But there will also be new generations of journalists willing to leap into an unsteady industry because they think explaining the world around them is worthwhile, if not particularly remunerative.”
I have been wondering for the past year whether or not The New Yorker will continue to publish or die sometime in my lifetime. The magazine had layoffs recently, and the cartoon department structure has been changing (details for another letter); things seem shakey to me. I wonder if that reflects thinking at the magazine that its readers may not want New Yorker style cartoons anymore. That, in their efforts to stay alive, they don’t fully grasp how important that kind of commentary is. It’s not about feeling under-appreciated, I am grateful to be there still; I worry about the survival of not only my magazine, but the art form. I like to think we are safe, because the cartoons are decidedly a part of the magazine’s brand. I have a strong belief that drawings such as we find in the magazine are great journalistic reflections of who we are as Americans. And frankly it’s good to laugh at a well-crafted drawing.
This letter started with a concern over how the media is behaving in this Presidential election and how its behavior might affect the outcome in a not-so honest way. I hope not; I hope the major news outlets can keep themselves in check and not just cover what’s slacious.
And figure out a way to stay alive! We need journalism in partnership with democracy.
Happy Saturday, see you tomorrow.
Here are a couple of related drawings I have done over the years. The bed one was done in 2016 during the Trump campaign.
Great commentary! The subject is dear to my heart because I spent a large chunk of my career at newspapers and magazines. I believe in the media, but The New York Times and others are not doing a good job covering the presidential election. Just yesterday I shared that exact sentiment with the Times when I canceled my digital subscription. I hated to do it, I said, but I'd had enough.
Very well put, Liza. Some journalists seem out for blood over the slightest thing lately. And, as you say, ignore the huge snake or satanic one in our midst. The huge and continuing support for the Orange One bothers me most. It’s like the Civil War still lives in us as a nation.