Has The Fourth Estate Gone To Hell?
ABC is the latest to surrender to Trump
There’s a saying that journalism is supposed to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. But Big Media sure has had a crappy week or 52 on that front.
Who needs mainstream media? We all do! Little newspapers or blogs don’t have the resources to send reporters to sit in on trials and attend city council meetings, or have reporters file FOIA requests and follow up on them all day long, or sue the government for records. And they don’t have the cash to fend off meritless lawsuits from cranks with deep pockets and an axe to grind.
And you know who does? a big media company like ABC, owned by Disney!
So, why then would ABC settle a defamation lawsuit filed by the former president, pissed about George Stephanopoulos, who said to perpetual victim and grievance farmer Rep. Nancy Mace during an interview last March: “You've endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape.”
Trump was found liable for sexual assault, because the jury was unsure if E. Jean Carroll was penetrated with only his gross little fingers, or also with his gross penis. Trump was on the verge of having to sit for a deposition and explain how his pristine reputation was somehow damaged by the malicious use of the “r” word, and it wasn’t real rapey rape, never mind that Judge Lewis Kaplan made clear that what the jury found Trump did was plenty rapey enough:
“[T]he definition of ‘rape’ in the New York Penal Law is far narrower than the definition of ‘rape’ in common modern parlance, its definition in some dictionaries, in some federal and state criminal statutes, and elsewhere. The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was “raped” within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump “raped” her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’ Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.”
The old creeper seemingly never stood a chance in court. So why would ABC, owned by Disney, agree to donate $15 million to the adjudicated rapist’s presidential library, pay $1 million of his legal fees, and issue a statement of regret within 10 days? (Carroll, by the way, still hasn’t gotten any of the money that Trump owes her.)
Was ABC scared that discovery would uncover embarrassing emails or conversations? Did they anticipate that fighting the case would cost them more than $16 million dollars? Worried that a Trump-worshipping Florida jury would not favor them? Did they simply want to get out of Dictator On Day One’s crosshairs as quickly as possible, as if that might save them from his promised vengeance? Your guess is as good as anyone’s. ABC, by the way, just renewed Stephanopoulos's contract at the end of last month, which sources say is “similar to the last deal,” which was $65 million for four years. Kind of weird for them to pay him all that money, and at the same time say with their corporate wallets that he’s $16 million-bad at his job. Maybe someday we’ll find out the actual back story there.
In other media-comforting-the-rich-and-comfortable news, the Los Angeles Times, and its billionaire pharmaceutical tycoon owner, the MAGA-curious Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Last week he reportedly yanked an editorial from the paper, titled “Donald Trump’s cabinet choices are not normal. The Senate’s confirmation process should be,” refusing to print it unless his paper also published an editorial with an opposing view, maybe something like “Donald Trump’s cabinet choices are extremely normal and sane! Russian propaganda tools, brain worm guy, a talk show host who reportedly comes in to work smelling like booze at 6:00 a.m. and wants a redo of the Crusades on American soil, nope, nothing weird here!”
Soon-Shiong also yoinked an endorsement of Kamala Harris the week before the election, leading to multiple staff resignations, including Mariel Garza, head of the editorial board, and columnist Harry Litman, who noted, “Trump has made it clear that he will make trouble for media outlets that cross him. Rather than reacting with indignation at this challenge to his paper’s critical function in a democracy, Soon-Shiong threw the paper to the wolves. That was cowardly.” (Soon-Shiong claims that the editorial board made the decision not to endorse independently, uh huh, sure.)
Soon-Shiong also plans to dispatch an AI “bias meter” so “the reader can press a button and get both sides of that exact same story based on that story and then give comments.” He later clarified that this would apply only to opinion columns, though isn’t the whole point of an opinion column is that it has, like, an opinion, man? Then there’s the stories that don’t appear at all: Soon-Shiong reportedly pulled one about how his rich friend’s dogs bit a woman at a park, then laid off the editor who approved it.
And to MAGA up the paper even more, Soon-Shiong hired conservative commentator and advisor to Mitch McConnell, Scott Jennings, for his editorial board. Hey, what does the guy who goes on Fox News and CNN to say stuff like Joe Biden is responsible for the price of eggs and Daniel Penny is actually the victim of Jordan Neely think? Please, let me give you my money so I can find out, said no one ever.
And there’s old Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, plus Amazon and a bunch of space dicks. He hired former alleged British tabloid hack Will Lewis as the Post’s publisher and CEO, pulled the paper’s endorsement of Harris, gushed a congratulations to Trump on Xitter, then flew to Florida to kiss the old man’s ring and stuff a million bucks in his pockets for his inauguration. Writing a check to the subject of your reporting to curry their favor? Not normal! None of this is normal!
And there’s the New York Times, which has debased itself in oh-so-many ways over the past few years, from publishing an op-ed from Tom Cotton about how the National Guard shooting American protesters would be a good idea, actually (regrets were expressed), harping on BIDEN OLD 26 times more often than they mentioned Trump was also old, and constant sanewashing of Trump’s delusions, lies and racism while simultaneously covering Harris in a critical and often sexist way.
But maybe we should just be grateful any newspapers still exist at all? In 20 years, the US has lost one-third of its newspapers, and now only about 6,000 are still publishing, and the vast majority of those publish only once a week. Hedge funds bought newspapers up to squeeze their profits, online job sites and marketplaces killed the classifieds, and people just don’t read them any more. Half of adults say they get their news from social media, mostly Facebook and YouTube. Which seems like a bad idea! But we are biased and old-fashioned, I guess.
Are any news outlets even trying to look objective any more these days? AP, Reuters and PBS, maybe?
[CBS / Harry Litman substack / Media Bias Detector / NY Times archive link / Axios / Computational Social Science Lab at Penn]
It's a challenging proposition to find honest and objective news insofar as big media seems to favor clicks (i.e. rage/scandal engagement, which is easier money than the hard work of journalism) over integrity. And certainly, the changing online landscape hasn't helped, where everyone wants their news to be free and in small, easy-to-digest bits. But mostly, I think the pressure campaign from the right to call all news that didn't bend over backwards to their POV as "liberal" really helped kill journalism because instead of pushing back, the media itself gave a lot of unearned credence to the right's spin on events. And it still works. There are people that think Fox (fucking FOX) is too liberally biased.
I am honestly terrified that I will get sued over something I say on Pervert Justice. I don't have the money for that. I need large companies like ABC to keep fighting bullshit defamation actions to prove that they're bullshit for the benefit of smaller & one-person shops like Wonkette & The Play Typer Guy & PJ.