The Future Of Democracy Depends On Independent Media
The corporate media is not going to save America from fascism.
by Bob Cesca
WASHINGTON, DC – For most of us, the existential crisis we face in the wake of the 2024 presidential election is playing out on several different harrowing levels.
There’s the global impact of another Donald Trump presidency.
We know for certain that he’ll take a wrecking ball to so many of the institutions we rely upon, and he’ll do it without any regard for existing laws, traditions, or norms. The impact on the climate alone will be catastrophic. As they sandbag against rising tides, future generations will endlessly curse those of us who nearsightedly and selfishly voted for him, especially those who empowered a reckless dictator due to pronouns, sexism, and the price of bacon – petty, kneejerk, hateful justifications that will have dire ramifications for their own kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.
Then there’s the personal side of this nightmare.
The other day, I was renewing my passport and, as I stood in line, I noticed so many non-white people with non-American accents asking the clerk to expedite their new documents. Clearly, many of them were looking for a quick way out of the country before Donald orders the military into our cities and suburbs to round them all up and ship them off to deportation concentration camps, including countless people who are here legally. As for me, I was renewing my passport just in case we have to bug out due to the incoming chaos. (I have no specific plans to leave. Just being prepared.) So many of us are having this conversation: should we leave? If we do, where would we go?
I suspect this is why Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with Donald at Mar-a-lago this week. Even though they framed it as an attempt to open a dialogue with the incoming president, there’s a very real chance they did it in order to curry favor in the event he orders his Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service to harass anyone who publicly criticized him.
If so, they wouldn’t be the only people here who are deeply worried about such a thing. I don’t know how realistic the concern might be, but all that talk about “enemies of the people” and the “enemy within” weren’t just throwaway improvised red meat for his disciples. He’s pissed, and if I were one of the prosecutors or investigators working on his criminal cases, I’d make preparations for the incoming retribution.
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On one hand, I don’t blame them for doing it out of fear of retribution. After all, they were right there with the rest of us, calling him a fascist and generally ripping him to shreds every morning. On the other hand, Joe and Mika made one of the worst blunders in an age of tyranny: they obeyed in advance. I get the sense that much of the news media will do the same, continuing to water down its criticism for fear of retribution.
I’ve said repeatedly that 2024 was the worst year for the political press in my lifetime. So much of the blame for the outcome of the election should start and end with the news media. Its sanewashing of Donald Trump was beyond egregious. Even worse, the press failed to adequately warn the people about the full scope of the threat. While there was plenty of decent reporting about what Donald intended to do, there was very little effort by editors and TV showrunners to reinforce the reporting – to emphasize it, to put it in context, to resurrect earlier reporting, and so forth. Only now, after the election, are some people realizing how uninformed they were about what would happen.
Rather than explaining why inflation occurred in 2021-2022, for instance, or that it has since returned to its normal pre-COVID rate, cable news and papers of record focused almost exclusively on things like warning about a recession that never happened, or endlessly repeating poll results about how people were feeling about inflation. No wonder a majority of voters thought we were in a recession. And so they punished Kamala Harris and the Democrats based on their false, media-driven impression of the economy.
Now, with another Donald Trump presidency growing closer in our collective windshield, we can expect similar and worsening coverage by the traditional press. Meanwhile, Joe and Mika’s network, MSNBC, is about to be spun off by Comcast, so who knows what’ll happen to the only liberal-ish network on cable.
Last time, we rallied around our papers of record like the New York Times and Washington Post. After this past year, I doubt that’ll happen again, despite the existence of truly great reporters (the money people, not so much).
Now more than ever before, we have to support independent media. News organizations like ProPublica need your clicks, readership, and financial assistance. There’s a wide range of high quality Substacks (hint, hint) with excellent reporting and analysis. The same goes for podcasts (hint, hint again). Start with the Stephanie Miller universe of shows and work your way outward from there. If you’re more progressive, subscribe to Aaron Rupar’s Public Notice newsletter, or Mary Trump’s The Good In Us. Maybe up your pledge to The Banter. If you’re more centrist, try The Bulwark.
From there, make sure your politically disengaged friends are aware of what’s happening, both good and bad. One of the reasons we lost this election is because disinformation somehow made its way from Donald and his army of Red Hat media goons into the minds of Normals. We have to interrupt that flow of horseshit and replace it with actual news.
The future of democracy will depend on brave Americans circulating facts and criticisms of the incoming fascist regime. That means you and me. No matter how scary it might seem.
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"Only now, after the election, are some people realizing how uninformed they were about what would happen."
Largely the fault of the corporate media and press, absolutely. But "uninformed voters" don't get to absolve themselves of responsibility. The information was there and readily available if they bothered to make even a small effort. They don't now get to plead "I didn't know. I was tricked." victimhood (and we should definitely not suggest that excuse on their behalf).
No, the corporate media is not going to save the country from anything. After all the bullshite they have been spewing about Trump, people are sick of it and don't believe anything they say. Bye-bye corporate media and good riddance. And you can stop with the fascism crap too, Trump is now the president so deal with it.