It’s your fucking duty. It’s why you got an ’estate’. You are a necessary facet of democracy but you need to do your part and act like it so you deserve the protections and benefits provided to you for doing so - like benefit of trust and access to politicians.

With few exceptions, you’re failing to be our eyes and ears and mouths and are instead mouthpieces for ownership and interests.

If it was just your job to make money take off the news armour (yeah you Fox) and stand naked in front of us as the liars you are.

Oof sorry. Got ranty there. It’s all getting to be too much.

If Journalists point that out and report on it, then the Republicans will refuse their interviews and to come on their shows.. and they much rather have the fall of democracy, than risk losing access.

"bbbbut thuh Dems haven't done anything to EARN my vote" and other such brain dead takes from ding dongs who don't understand basic pragmatic logic.

Private Media's duty is to the shareholders.

And if you look at who the big shareholders are voting for (and donating to and campaigning for) it's the Trump GOP.

Sinclair Media, iHeartCommunications, News Corp, Amazon Media Group, Twitter...

These guys are lockstep with the conservative movement.

The end of democracy in the U.S. is not going to come from fascist conservatives, but from too-busy-with-life normies, the type who don’t vote in anything but presidential elections. They’re just too busy to notice anything other than their bills.

In their minds, they’re going to “punish” the blues for inflation while ignoring that the reds only ever made them poorer. These type of people don’t care about genocides (someone else’s problem, there’s always brown people dying, Israel is an ally etc), abortion rights (only stupid people get pregnant or only sluts need that), or trans people (that’s too weird for them). They don’t care about climate change (it’s a topic up for debate, it’s not factual), but have kids. They don’t care about workers rights, but work deadend or multiple jobs. They don’t care about getting more healthcare rights, but are a medical emergency away from bankruptcy.

I am not saying these people are dumb or callous, they need outreach and they need to be presented clearly with their options and outcomes. If you can, volunteer to sign people up to vote and present what’s at stake.

But but Biden didn’t personally go to Gaza to act as a human shield against Israeli shelling, so I don’t care if Trump wins!!

So, something the better journalists have to be careful with, is using neutral language even in certain clearly one-sided situations. That's not just to not upset people on both sides; it helps to inform the truth to those who want to read carefully and critically.

If I read, "beware! The right-wingers are conspiring to make a fascist government!" then all I can do is shrug at another sensationalist conspiracy clickbait.

If I read factual details of things said, done and published by said right-wingers: it turns out I'm capable myself of seeing something is bad or good. Sure, it's still the journalist's job to interpret the facts to a degree, but those facts should be as transparent as possible and attaching inflammatory language, even if appropriate, often obscures that.

There is a place for opinion writers. But we need, I think, more of the less-opinioned honest truth for honest people. Even if that scares you that readers might not take up your call to arms as quickly as you think they ought.

Sorry, that went a bit off the rails, because I'm not quite sure how to express - though I still think it's true - the important place for journalism that doesn't call a spade a spade but tells you its shape so you can understand.

Everything should be prefaced with the fact conservatives don't think it's possible they can lose.

Is this a meme?