The Media's Price on Morality

In 1896, an era of sensationalized and hyperpartisan journalism, Adolph Ochs purchased The New York Times. Addressing the readers of what he envisioned becoming the paper of record – and in a clear rebuke of financier efforts to exert editorial influence – Ochs wrote that it would be his “earnest aim to … give the news impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect, or interest involved.”

Such a commitment today would be little more than marketing copy or public relations hype from many of America’s once-independent, ethical, and respected news sources. How very far the champions of the First Amendment have fallen and, with them, the security and stability of our democracy.

In the same week that we saw Donald Trump attempt to make a win out of the horrifying and tragic murders of Rob and Michele Reiner, that twisted vulgarian was given primetime access on all three major television networks to lie direct-to-camera to the American people. Only two days later, Trump’s Department of Justice – and I do mean it belongs to Trump – once again betrayed its name by denying, or at least impeding, justice for the women and girls who were sex-trafficked and abused by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy, powerful pals. It’s under the same power and weight of obscene wealth that we see traditional media collapsing. The obvious influence of billionaire owners and financiers, and self-serving C-suite executives, is the farthest imaginable from Ochs’s vision of journalism “without fear or favor.”

In its latest capitulation, CBS appears to have prioritized currying favor with the Administration over the tough, necessary investigative journalism that made 60 Minutes a north star of holding the powerful to account for decades. The deeply researched, fully produced, widely promoted, and legally vetted story on the Trump Administration’s illegal flight of Venezuelans from the US to El Salvador’s torture prison was pulled just hours before it was set to air, with the thinnest of thin explanations. This is deeply troubling, though not surprising with CBS now under the direction of Bari Weiss.

As reported in The Guardian, Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent who would have been featured in the segment, wrote the following about the episode to her CBS colleagues in a private note on Sunday:

“[The episode] was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”

Alfonsi continued, explaining that she and her team had requested comment from the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the White House:

“If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient. We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of ‘gold standard’ reputation for a single week of political quiet.”

As we close in on 2026, it’s painfully common to see journalists berated, insulted, and threatened for attempting to hold the powerful to account. In another time, the bullying, crass, and degrading assaults on the press by the President of the United States would be met with pushback from fellow reporters. Most often, they’re met with silence rather than a demand for respect and an insistence that questions be answered. Without the confidence that their media-owner overlords will have their backs, reporters at corporately owned outlets are left to choose between standing up to Trump and doing their jobs, or possibly losing those jobs and their careers. Sadly, that results in his transgressions becoming greater, his depths ever lower, and his sycophants comfortably secure in the knowledge that they will not pay a price for their willingness to go along with depravity.

Articles

The Free Press vs. The Free Press

Lisa Senecal · Oct 12

There has been a tremendous amount of coverage and conversation about CBS bringing on the MAGA-curious, “anti-wokeness,” DEI critic, and founder of The Free Press, Bari Weiss, as its editor-in-chief. All the analysis and reporting that I’ve seen has focused on what this means for the integrity of CBS.

Read full story

Share

The choice between our work and our ethics is one that no one at Lincoln Square Media will ever be asked to make. We do not answer to billionaires, nor are we at the mercy of Trump-controlled regulators. We are accountable to ourselves and, more importantly, to you, the truth, and our country. The game didn’t change in the middle for any of us at Lincoln Square. We entered this work knowing exactly what we were facing and chose to be here at this time because it matters. Because everything is at stake. Because what is right, moral, and ethical is not fungible. Those cannot have a price, or the value of our rights and freedoms is diminished, and we are all diminished by that.

Because we do not have, nor do we want, unethical billionaire backers, we depend on the support of those who read, watch, listen to, and share our work. We depend on you. If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you, and please consider gifting a subscription this holiday season.

We have a tremendous opportunity to change the direction of our future in 2026. The further our democracy drifts toward authoritarianism, the less frequent and less powerful those opportunities will be. In this first year of Trump’s second term, we have made incredible strides and had successes that were difficult to imagine a year ago. That hasn’t happened by chance. It’s been incredibly difficult, but gratifying work, and you have been there beside us. With your support, our country can be in a very different place when next year’s holiday season comes around. Trust that we’ll continue to stand firmly beside you and all those fighting for the country we deserve and so many desperately need.

Wishing the very happiest and healthiest of holidays to you and those you hold dear.

Give a gift subscription