In 1787, Thomas Jefferson, primary author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote a letter to Edward Kerrington, the man Jefferson had sent as a delegate to the Congressional Congress in his place. In his letter, Jefferson told Kerrington to make a strong case for a free and uncensored press. 

It was a controversial topic in the country’s early years, and Jefferson was a fierce believer that a free press was absolutely necessary to keep citizens informed about the actions of the government and involved in governmental affairs as they held those in power accountable.  

In fact, Jefferson wrote Kerrington, “…were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment [to choose the newspapers].”    

Most Americans agree with the idea that criticism from the press keeps politicians from doing things that they shouldn’t do. But the second half of Jefferson’s quote is equally important when he says that the press “must be accurate in their reporting.”  

And, for a while, it seemed that Jefferson was right.  

Newspapers across the country publishing the Pentagon Papers exposed the futility of the Vietnam War and played a big role in influencing public opinion and political pressure to bring the war to an end.  

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post wrote for months about Watergate, which ultimately led to hearings which ultimately led to President Nixon resigning.  

Investigative reporters at The Boston Globe broke the story about rampant child abuse in the Catholic Church, which led to priests being named and investigations being conducted within the church.   

Broadcast news picked up the stories and viewers across the United States could turn on one of the three major networks or PBS at 6 p.m. and learn, essentially, the same information that was being broadcast on the other channels. Journalism was a respected profession as standard practice was then – as it is now – for reporting to go through an editing process before going on the air or in print. 

To be clear, newspapers and news broadcasts didn’t end the war, cause Nixon to resign or priests to be investigated. The media, in general terms, informed the public with accurate, factual, and reliable information. It was the public that got processes in motion. 

But, although hated by some politicians and corporate executives, the media was trusted by the public. In fact, during the 60s and 70s when social unrest and political corruption were front page news, opinion polls showed Walter Cronkite – a CBS broadcast journalist – was the most trusted man in America. 

But things have changed in the country since then. The media has changed. The public’s opinion of the media has changed. And, as current events clearly show, politicians have changed. 

A myriad of factors have influenced how media has changed over the last few decades, but one of the most obvious is the permeating presence of social media and websites and their role in “news” coverage. 

A study by the Pew Research Center shows that more than half of Americans (54%) used social media as their news source with Facebook and YouTube outpacing all others. Since 2022, that number has stagnated and, as of 2023, 80% of Americans used their tablet, notebook or phone to visit apps and websites for their news.  

Speaking in general terms, some apps and websites are attached to credible, established news sources but many are not and it’s sometimes difficult to tell when that’s the case. Consequently, some less than credible websites reap great rewards in promoting “news” that is blatantly false and, in some cases, ultimately proven so in court.  

Their efforts are greatly helped by algorithms – virtual matchmakers who pair users with content that is “relevant” (or similar) to other content they are viewing. The result is the creation of echo chambers where users are exposed only to news that is similar to other news they are consuming. Ultimately, with no other content to provide a different perspective, users are pushed to more and more extreme positions. 

One of the more glaring examples is Alex Jones’ InfoWars. Shortly after the 2009 Sandy Hook shooting where 25 people, including 20 children ages 6 to 7, were killed by a teenager with an assault rifle, Jones began claiming that the shooting was a “false flag governmental operation” and no children were actually killed. He was promoting this falsehood at the same time he was reporting that Parkland High School kids – also victims of a mass shooting – were “crisis actors” and 9/11 was “an inside job”.  

At its height, InfoWars had 715,000 unique visitors to its website every day. In recent years, some of Jones’ conspiracy theories have even been repeated by members of Congress. 

In 2022, during testimony in court as part of a lawsuit brought against him by self-described “anguished parents”, Jones was ultimately forced to admit under oath that “Sandy Hook was 100% real.”  

After that court hearing, InfoWars’ presence diminished. Jones had been banned by Twitter until it was purchased by Elon Musk who immediately lifted the ban. Within a week, Jones reportedly had 800,000 followers. 

Does “mainstream” media make mistakes? Yes. Clearly. But they are held accountable.  

Jones was also held accountable, as well, but many are not, which leaves one obvious conclusion to be drawn: in growing parts of the current media landscape, truth has been exchanged for profit.  

And Americans pay the price.