Journalists did it all to themselves

Last week, the LA Times announced a massive layoff of journalists. They were just one of several places that kicked the activists masquerading as reporters to the curb. This, of course, was met with consternation by the journalistic field as a whole. Everyone seemed ready to warn of doom and gloom, telling us how important they are to society and that we need them. Yet absolutely none of them seemed remotely interested in actually examining why the field is shrinking so horrifically. Sure, the current landscape is very different due to technological advancements. For example, there’s places like Substack where I can reach out to readers directly instead of needing to filter things through a newspaper’s editorial voice. But journalists also did this to themselves. A prime example comes from a piece that popped up at the Huffington Post. Despite knowing that this particular journalist wouldn’t piss on me if I were on fire, the truth is that she came up from being a drug addict to landing at the Los Angeles Times. It’s really an inspiring story. Only, she’s now out of work. And while she doesn’t know why, she gives us some clues. This isn’t just about me or the others who now find themselves out of work. This is much bigger than any of us. Journalism is more crucial now than maybe ever. A free press holds politicians and leaders accountable. Journalists investigate and call out all the unkept promises and hollow plans spouted passionately from podiums. They hold feet to the fire and uncover abuses of power. It is often their work that shines a light into the darkest places to find answers — that offers and insists upon the truth in an increasingly unscrupulous world. While journalism can be inherently political, it is deeply personal, too. Stories matter — interrogating and illuminating humanity matters. Journalism offers a glimpse into realities many readers have never lived, whether that’s the struggle of healthcare workers on the frontlines of a global pandemic; a man fleeing Vietnam and building a billion-dollar Sriracha business out of a van in Southern California; sisters launching an organization to help find the missing Black people whose cases are oft neglected; or a mother’s journey navigating her daughter’s years-long heroin addiction. These stories have the ability to open and change minds, which, in turn, changes our culture. Those stories are interesting, sure, but the idea that journalism is or can be “inherently political” is a big chunk of the problem. Why? Because journalism’s “inherently political” tribe uses their politics to decide which stories are worth reporting. Journalists, if we can even really call them that anymore, aren’t simply sharing truth. They’re amplifying some stories and smothering others. How often do we see stories claiming so-and-so is a white supremacist because he favors welfare reform or a tougher stance on illegal immigration? How many publications amplified the nonsense about Border Patrol agents “lassoing” illegal immigrants because of a picture they didn’t understand? Journalism doesn’t represent the American people. It represents the Democratic Party. In 1971, Republicans accounted for just over a quarter of all journalists. In 2022, they were 3.4 percent. May be an image of text that says 'Party Affiliation PERCENTAGEOF ALL JOURNALISTS 100% 90% Democrat Republican 80% 35.5% Independent Other 70% 38.5% 44.1% 60% 35.9% 28.1% 50% 36.4% 25.7% 18. 8% 40% 7.1% 18.0% 16.4% 30% 3.4% 20% 32.5% 39.1% 50.2% 10% 32.5% 34.4% 0% 51.7% 6.3% 3.6% 1971 5.1% 13.6% 1982 14.6% 1992 2002 8.5% 2013 2022' Original can be found here. Now, in 1971, those independents were probably divided between left-leaning and right-leaning to some degree or another, though the survey didn’t capture that. In 2022, I suspect many who called themselves independent did so because they thought the Democrats were too right-leaning for their tastes. What’s more, despite the lack of ideological diversity, that same source found that only 21.8 percent see that as needing to change. What’s more, starting in 2016, news publications really stopped even trying to pretend they were unbiased. A form of blatantly activist journalism became common, with virtually every news agency in the nation showing at least some signs of it. They didn’t like Trump and were upset that they didn’t prevent him from being elected. So they made sure he wouldn’t be elected again. Yet in doing so, they undermined any shred of credibility they had left. Meanwhile, independent journalists are all over the place, either having started their own websites or creating publications here at Substack. From Matt Taibbi to Bari Weiss to Glenn Greenwald, people who were told to be silent and refused to found a way to not be silent anymore. Those of us over here at Substack seem to be doing OK, which tells you that journalists did all of this to themselves. They inflated their own self-importance without understanding why journalism mattered for so long. They shot themselves in the foot, then they demand you reverse the bullet because that foot is just too important to society. Well, no one is losing any sleep that their desire to be “inherently political” has now put a number of them out of work. I’d tell them to learn to code, but the truth of the matter is that the computer programming profession deserves better than them. Tilting at Windmills is 100% reader-supported. 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