Newspapers are dying. That’s old news. What’s new is that in California, they may get some state government life support.
There’s state legislation brewing that would force the largest internet platforms — like Google — to kick in money to help save journalism. These platforms are the principal villains, after all, in the downfall of so many news outlets. It’s not only newspapers that are in perilous decline.
It’s much of news reporting — for print, broadcast and even digital. In financial jeopardy is the profession of gathering factual information that citizens need in order to hold their elected representatives and governments accountable — in Washington, Sacramento and every city and little town. Robust journalism is the essential component of a healthy democracy.
Weak journalism leads to a sick democracy. Here’s a stark example of what’s happening today as misinformation fills the communications void left by the weakening of factual journalism: Millions of Americans actually believe Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him. There is no credible evidence for that poor-loser fabrication.
But Trump followers ignore declining objective news outlets and reaffirm their beliefs in echo chambers such as Fox News. Most government and political writers, by nature, are driven by the desire to cut through the bull and provide the public with straight facts written in an understandable way. If there’s an agenda, it’s not ideological.
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