General Discussion

Yes, corporations are always going to side with whomever butters their bread, and the corporate media are no different. Years of the right demonizing the profession of journalism and the fact that in any business money must be made has hollowed out the fourth estate. But journalism is so essential to a free society that it is the only profession named and protected in the Constitution.

There are some people--like Ben, Brett, and Jordan Meiselas--doing good work out there; and there are clearly many others--like Scott Pelley--working from the inside as best they can. But we need a clearer strategy.

Some of us need to become billionaires--or at least raise our kids to be--and buy media conglomerates. We should also look to venture capital and co-ops as a way to create real news networks that serve the public and not the dollar. Many more of us need to be writing and speaking in a way that reaches a larger audience.

But we would have to understand going into it: real journalism is going to both uplift and offend us. The unwillingness of both sides to stomach criticism of their own is at least in part responsible for where we are now.

The loss of the fourth estate has not happened overnight. It is the result of a many-years-long campaign. And it will take a another many-years-long campaign to return it to where it is not a propaganda tool for either side.