Saturday 12 November 2016

Journalistic cynicism

I could not in all conscience complain about the wall-to-wall UK media coverage on the horse-race across the pond (the BBC, spending licence fee money on dozens of reporters and celebrity presenters in the United States, was as usual the worst culprit) and at the same time add my commentary on this blog, beyond speculating on the outcome for us. However, I was impressed by this biting summary by an American journalist enough to want to share it:

Newspapers are just not influential any more. Every major newspaper in the United States endorsed Hillary Clinton. The only "newspaper" that endorsed Donald Trump was The Crusader, the house organ of the Klu Klux Klan.

 How do you explain that to a journalism class without handing out job applications for McDonalds at the same time?

Thirty years of trying to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable and where has it gotten us?

Is it too late to get one of those sweet telephone sanitizer gigs or get into the exciting world of couch insurance?

There is more here.

Ironically, many of my friends complain about the undue influence of the press over here, particularly on our country's relationship with the rest of Europe. However, the decline in employment of trained journalists is similar.

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