All that glisters..

Photo by Art Lasovsky on Unsplash

Joseph Pulitzer once said that an "able, disinterested, public-spirited press" was pivotal to maintaining a free Republic. Conversely, he warned, "a cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself." A century later, it would be interesting to see what Pulitzer thinks of today's fractured media landscape. 

At the New York Post, writer Jesse Adams says Pulitzer was a bit of a puzzle. His official reason for founding the Pulitzer Prize was to make some recompense for his yellow journalism during the Spanish-American war. But he was also reportedly a bit prickly and liked being liked by the right people, so he might fit right in at the White House Correspondent's dinner. 

Adams writes that the Pulitzers are "as captured and corrupt an institution as any", peddling the "shopworn narratives from Davos and the Hamptons." Reading through the list of this year's prize winners, it's fairly clear what corporate media are preoccupied with – racism, abortion, climate change and promoting the vilest and most disturbed representatives of LGBT crowd. 

You don't have to engage with corporate media for very long to see that many journalists believe "themselves to be innately without bias and fearless pursuers of The Truth", as Newsmax's James Rosen tweeted recently. "They are the most dangerous, and often the most biased." All the while, they hold that others are responsible for the fake news which is a threat to our democracy. 

So whether it's from a publication that you endorse, or one you don't, keep your discernment up. Adams concludes, "conscientious consumers are about all that’s left between journalism and propaganda — and the customer is more often right than whatever the establishment is flogging." Take your time, weigh up each report and breathe normally. As Rev Fisk says, there are no emergencies for those who are in Christ.