Most political journalists are Democrats, but that doesn't mean they're all biased. Far from it. Unfortunately, many reporters and editors get caught up in pre-election hysteria. They forget to do what they should be doing — calling balls and strikes. Instead they become powerful cheerleaders.
There was a smugness in political reporting in 2024. Most outlets shied away from reporting the very important fact that Biden's mental acuity had slipped significantly as president. Voters could plainly see it. Yet, they were told countless times he was "as sharp as a tack."
It's no wonder that trust in the media is at historic lows. And that's part of the reason the press industry is in such turmoil and will never be the same.
Politics has always been polarizing (yes -- even before Trump ran for president). Now it's off the charts. Politics has become violent and dangerous.
Trump falsely says the press is the enemy of the people and insults anyone who gets in his way. As the leader of the free world, that doesn't set a good example of public discourse. Still, he isn't alone. Democrats and Republicans, who joined together to sing on the steps of the Capitol after 9/11, personally attack the other side — and sometimes their own side — on a regular basis.
The media — and social media — must shoulder some blame. Faced with declining revenues, corporate giants such as The Washington Post, CNN and CBS have tried to revamp their operations. They all face uphill climbs, though CBS seems to understand that a major revamp is in order instead of tinkering around the edges.
In recent years, a term that was rarely uttered became somewhat mainstream: activist journalist. It should become obsolete because the phrase is an oxymoron. There's certainly a place for columnists and pundits on the far right and the far left and everything in between. However, if you are covering news events for an outlet that purports to be down the middle, you cannot be an activist. You don't take sides. Period.
