The thin line between propaganda and biased political journalism
9 June 2004, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Our Cristabel Cruz takes a (not very fond) look back at media coverage of the CA 2026 primary, and finds more horses than candidates. She explains why. An Opp Now Exclusive.
I'm not even 25 and yet these elections are turning me into a cranky old lady.
It's not just the candidates, but rather the mind-numbing silliness of local political journalism.
The way they pursue click-bait story lines (Take-a-ways! Winners & Losers!) and ignore serious policy positions. The way they characterize candidates as gender-based stereotypes (tech-bros, pushy women). And most of all--the way their chosen narratives always prefer the language of a horserace instead of a conflict of ideas.
Mi amigas in the 5th Estate say they're just pursuing what readers want. But hey, that's manifestly false because legacy media readership keeps tanking year after year--and trust in media follows it over the falls precisely because they're not delivering what people want.
It's thin beer, I suppose, to realize--as this Weekend's Readings reveal--that the problem's not unique to California and the U.S. The rot in journalism is a global phenomenon.
And here's the ironic thought: imagine where we'd be without much-reviled Social Media and New Media. At least X, facebook, Medium, Substack et al--in their own vulgar and wacky way--tell the stories legacy media chooses to bury.
--Cristabel Cruz for the Opp Now team
This weekend's new stories
How mainstream journalism squandered its authority
If objectivity is a bourgeois notion, if language is just power all the way down, if feelings trump facts--hey, it shouldn't be any surprise that newsrooms on board with these notions simply pump out biased pandering. The Niskanen Institute explores the nexus of bad newspapers and postmodern philosophy.
UK's lack of political diversity is tanking its once-proud journalism culture
A dive into the data reveals a Progressive Activism monoculture is taking over journalistic--and other--job centres in the U.K. Ethical Systems explores.
Why is press freedom limited in Japan?
Claims of Japanese government pressure and manipulation of journalism persist, as the media's dependency on access journalism and business interests have contributed to self-censorship and poor coverage of crucial public issues. David A McNeill of the University of the Sacred Heart explains in East Asia Forum.
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