The Media Obsession With Trump vs Musk Is Another Example of "Cooked Journalism"

Ground-breaking or algorithm-following news?

Two of the world’s richest and most powerful men are feuding in virtual reality and everyone is covering it. Every legacy media reporter is scrambling to refresh their social media feeds to make sure they see the next “sick burn” first. Me? I’m sitting here wondering, aren’t there better things to cover than grown men who throw temper tantrums when they don’t get their way? Have we tried taking their phones away? How about ignoring their petty bullshit?

In America, we have mass shootings almost every day, polluted drinking water, toxins in our food, the biggest inequality gap in our world’s history, an unstable economy… but hey the President and another billionaire are hurling insults at each other on the social media platforms they each own. What does that say about those who accumulate wealth and power? And more importantly, is our society that far removed from reality that covering social media commentary is the number one story on almost every media outlet? Most of us can visit our town’s social media page and find the same crap. Why is this the most important thing in the news? It’s not. It’s what sells. That’s why legacy media is losing its grip on the American public.

The New York Times covered the Musk-Trump feud by highlighting the memes that are coming out. Now, there’s Pulitzer Prize winning reporting. Honestly, how much will this feud affect the average American? It won’t, but lolz, memes, emojis,. When did our country become obsessed with billionaire gossip? And, for that matter, hieroglyphics?

For our legacy media, why wasn’t this potential fallout between Trump and Musk in the news before the blowup? I don’t need a reporter to tell me something I can find online in seconds. Aren’t journalists supposed to tell us what’s going on behind the scenes before it breaks? Or do journalists sit around waiting for someone to tell them what to say and write? 

Long gone are the days of Woodward and Bernstein, who exposed a massive cover up by the President with long, difficult and dangerous reporting. There’s no profit in that anymore. Instant clicks and feedback are the game. First, not right or informative. There’s no doubt if Woodward and Bernstein were chasing Watergate in today’s America, they’d be labeled fake news and extremists.

Instead of investigative and helpful reporting, our political media holds the story until it benefits them or their news organization. Look at all the books and tell all stories coming out about America’s “Weekend at Biden’s” era after these same “journalists” and “sources” gaslit America into believing Biden wasn’t half dead. News readers like Jake Tapper were outsmarted and used by politicians to protect the Party narrative. That, or they were in on the coverup. Does it matter? Either way, our journalists are incompetent or corrupt, failing our country once again. It’s no longer a mistake when it becomes the expectation. Then again, how can a journalist sell books if they report the news as it happens? Save it for the hardcover to make a few bucks. Right Jake?

Legacy media will continue to blame extremists, stupidity, and misinformation for the rise of alternative media, while attacking those who participate. If the legacy media could only look in the mirror, not take source quotes as facts, or understand how working for a news corporation actually works, we’d have a better, more informed American public.

Take former MSNBC newsreader Joy Reid, who said this week, “I would be a lot more vocal on social media if I weren’t constantly being told not to.”

Let’s play a game. It’s called what’s more important? A high paying national news job or expressing your opinion in virtual reality for attention? Having your own TV show isn’t enough?

But why can’t a “journalist” say what they want online? What happened to freedom of speech? Doesn’t exist in the corporate world. Maybe it never did, but it certainly doesn’t now. Most employment agreements nullify our First Amendment rights. That’s not freedom.

And look, I’m no fan of Joy Reid’s closed-minded takes, but she should be able to express them without losing her job. Not every opinion is harmful. Most aren’t. Liking everything you hear isn’t freedom. But why wouldn’t Joy try making her social media points on her show instead of virtual reality? Simple. Her show was never really her show. That’s showbiz, baby!

Unfortunately, it’s not just political journalism committing these heinous crimes. It’s across the board. One of the worst “journalists” of this era is a lawyer turned football blogger. Last week, Mr. Football Blogger, Esquire covered a former NFL and current college coach’s much younger girlfriend and her alleged influence on the man. That’s called gossip, which is weird for a website that covers “pro football” to write about. It’s like the New York Giants (and Jets) playing in Jersey and calling themselves New York.

Oh wait.

Here’s how Mr. Football Blogger, Esquire,  justified his gossip column:

“For any owner/operator of a media outlet that hopes to satisfy the fundamental business objective of generating enough revenue to consistently outpace expenses, some stories demand time and attention — because the audience is consuming that content. From the moment Hudson said, “We’re not talking about this,” anything regarding Belichick and Hudson is what everyone wants to read. (And, yes, we have exercised significant restraint and discretion in passing on potential stories that would have performed extremely well.)

“… I vowed not to write about it unless it contained news. And it did.”

Everyone is talking about it. How can I interject myself into the news cycle? That’s lawyer speak for I obey a computer algorithm because it controls what I write about. Cheap tricks for clicks, but what do you expect from a lawyer? Most of us can visit our town’s social media page and find the same crap. Why is this the most important thing in the news?

When will our reporters stop being slaves to algorithms and ad revenue, so they can report on things that actually matter? I’m no scholar, but when did informing and engaging become the same thing?

The most alarming part of all of this? Whether football, politics, or any news, legacy media is a business based on profits, not informing. Clearly, there’s no money in truth. And there lies the problem. Reporting should be a vessel to expose corruption, provide knowledge that makes the world a better place, make people think, and inform us about the world, society, problems and systems we inherit. Right now, American media is failing at this. But they can’t take all the blame. We keep clicking.