Journalism as we have previously known it is dead. In its stead and through the advent of the internet we now have the Influencers. Journalist were those individuals whose "activity or profession [was] writing for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or preparing news to be broadcast." In the past these individuals endeavored to uncover facts and present them in an unbiased way so the public could make informed decisions. Todays Influencers are not interested in the facts or in presenting the information so you can make an informed decision. Their interest lies in you making their desired decision. They want you to decide a particular politicians is a jerk, a particular policy is wrong, the world is coming to an end, everyone is going to die. All so you will come back for more. They are intent on swaying public opinion.
I trace the death of journalism and the rise of influencers back to 2004 and the downfall of Dan Rather. When Mr. Rather went on the air, just weeks before the election, in national broadcast claiming to have documents amounting to dirt on then President George Bush and his military performance. The documents had been written, allegedly, by one of Bush's superiors. The story drew national attention but in a matter of hours individuals all across the internet began to question their authenticity.
The documents in question are type written and supposedly from 1973. Close examination of the documents shows they use proportional spacing. Proportional spacing was not in common use on typewriters at the time but was available on IBM Selectrics with a proportional space type ball installed. It is impossible to authenticate the documents without the originals.
Bush went on to win his re-election and continued as President until the 2008 election. At that time supposed journalists fawned all over Barak Obama and continued to do so throughout his Presidency. Then came 2016 and the journalists had all but disappeared. The few out there, along with the new Influencers, were convinced the country had to have a female President. They derailed the Sanders campaign and did everything they could to derail the Trump campaign. In the end, however, the Influencers misread all the signals and did not achieve their objective. Trump won.
They could not understand how this could be. All of the polls indicated that Hillary Clinton was destined to win. Their disbelieve at their failure has led them to launch campaign after campaign to discredit President Trump. First they embarked on the Russian Collusion story. Next it was Impeachment for Obstruction of Justice and soliciting a foreign power to help in his 2020 reelection. Now they are doing everything they can to convince the American Public Trump has mishandled the COVID-19 Pandemic. When the truth is, they are the ones who have made every effort to foment panic, fear and anxiety. They have pushed and continue to push for total lockdown of society.
Polls indicate the credibility of news outlets is low. Almost as low as the credibility of Congress. Americans see through their games and their exaggerations. It is only the Influencers who cannot see no one is buying their falsehoods and misinformation. Nevertheless, they are intent on winning their 15 minutes before the cameras, finding the snippet that will create a meme, turning heads this way or that in the hope that their star will rise.
