Wars, The Press, & The Public

 

Journalists in battle situation

The press has always sought to cover events that can be sensationalized and profited on. War is no exception. Though correspondence has evolved over time, from reporting the events of war to being lapdogs for the military industrial complex, the media has and will continue to be a pervader of war. 

In today's sensationalized world, the media seeks profit from drama and division. We see this with the race riots, and we see this with war.

The 'Fourth Estate" is essentially the 4th branch of government. The media serves as this estate as they often times mold political issues; based off of ratings on certain stories covered. During the Vietnam War, the media played an integral role in highlighting human rights tragedies. Post 9/11, however, the media simply reinforced the government's defense of war in the Middle East. The media should serve as a check on government, not an enabler. We should have a media that holds our leaders accountable, not hold them on a pedestal and worship.

The watchdog press is such a unique phenomena. A submissive lap Pug during the Obama and Biden administrations, and a Pitbull during the Trump administration, the media needs to find a balance between hit pieces and ego strokes.

Journalists should seek to expose the truth and investigate reality. They should not seek to divide and conquer, they should simply publish the truth. Recently, this understanding has been lost. Investigatory journalism has long helped this country mane progressive changes.

Without turning a blind eye to truth, watchdog journalism, when practiced properly, can make a lasting impact that will benefit generations of people and alter the status quo.

The press has a history of starting wars. Many in the political establishment are also responsible for war escalation.

The CATO Institute, a Libertarian leaning think tank, argues that the media's influence on sueding public opinion makes them responsible for starting wars. They point to the yellow journalism of Hurt and Pulitzer during the Spanish-American war and the influence of Judith Miller of the New York Times during the Iraq war as evidence. 

From 2010, this graphic shows cable news ratings

The media is just like any business: provide a product people want, make a profit. It is pretty simple. The only times people really pay attention to the news is if something is happening. As much as we would all like to go back to boring, khaki, pre-Trump life, we really can't. We have become so consumed with the drama of politics- and war- that we crave it and get bored with the blandness of people like Biden. 

This being said, the media needs to make money. They make their money off of advertisements during programming and that rate is determined by viewership. If people don't like boring news, they won't tune in unless it is interesting. This means the media must have something juicy for the people. It's what we want. It's what we need. And the media can provide. It's our savior.

The life and death of Reese Erlich brought a new style of investigatory journalism that sought to delegitimize war. Erlich's work was published in Vice; reason #1 he was not mainstream enough. Vice is an opinion publication that is not taken seriously by most. Pro-war voices like George Will were already in syndication with major publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

The 'New Partisan Press' era does not truly highlight where we are with journalism. Twitter journalists and keyboard fiends are moving the pendulum on absolutely no public policy. While journalists are living inside the Twitterverse, the rest of the world is not paying attention. People have stopped watching the news and started looking for more positive things to watch; especially during the time of Covid. 

The state of journalism today is sad... in my humble opinion. No longer are people able to turn on the tv or log onto social media without seeing some sort of liberal spin. Not to mention, if you watch Fox News you are looked down upon as they are perceived to be too radical. Even the most seasoned journalists at the most mainstream outlets have fallen victim to partisanship.

Sources

The Fourth Estate | Link

Watchdog Journalism | Link

The Press & War | Link