Newspapers were initially founded on political principal and were clear advocates for causes. That changed in the early 20th century where journalists were better trained and taught to be objective storytellers of the news. Sure, opinion columns and editorial preview existed, but news was perhaps at it purest and most unbiased form for years. Newspapers and then television personalities gained notoriety and fame and were regarded for being truthful synthesizers of the goings on of the day. Opinion creeped back in to mainstream journalism through the 1970’s and 1980’s and by the time George H.W. Bush famously took on the liberal Dan Rather on evening news, the country was ripe for a change. Cable news soon took off and then the Internet changed everything else.
Today, there seems to be not a single well-regarded source of news that is not derided by one side or the other for bias. Fake news has also become the rage, although it is difficult to distinguish between fact, bias, opinion and fiction in today’s news world. If one reads or watches multiple accounts of the same event, one can leave with multiple views of what actually happened, depending upon the spinners and the newstellers of the event. No wonder American’s don’t trust the news media, Congress or anything else anymore!
