Why The Mainstream Press Is Dying

The Guardian needs her to retweet…

The months since the start of the Special Military Operation have showed with brutal efficiency why the traditional press is dying. The scale of disinformation is off the chart. It is only natural that alternative channels of information (from blogs to Substack mailing list, to video channels) are now making the bigger part of the information sources of thinking people.

The press does the same old prostitution job, masked behind a fake layer of trustworthiness.

Last example: the Western press is now reporting the “six Kinzhal missiles” the Ukrainians claim they have shot down quite recently. The “fact checkers” by now (I think) employed by every newspaper will let the lie pass because, well, it is true that the Ukrainians claim the victories. But uncritically reporting a propaganda lie is not information, it’s a lie masked as fact.

Anybody who knows anything about the Kinzhal knows that the only way a Patriot missile can take one of those down is by sheer luck, “needle in a haystack” fashion. The idea that six have been taken down on the same day is bad comedy. In fact, even the idea that one has been taken down pushes very hard at the boundaries of reality.

But then again the Ukrainians had to admit a huge loss of ammo and other equipment, likely in the order of hundreds of millions of euros in value, just days ago, with a series of explosions in one single location that caused a huge mushroom-like smoke column. This was tantamount to the admission that their air defence is in dire straits, because it’s unthinkable that such a weapon stash would not be protected with the very best the Ukrainians have. So what do they do when they are forced to admit that the Russians run circles around them? They lie even more, and now want you to believe their extremely expensive, vintage missile system – which has been already humiliated by Iranians drowning in sanctions, and Yemeni fighters in sandals – can take down a Kinzhal. The Official Press is, as always, eager to help.

The mechanism is the one I have already described: modern mass media are the slaves of the narrative they think their pro-Ukrainian readers want to read. They feel obliged to do it because their revenue depends, in a shockingly big proportion, from the Ukraine fanboys retweeting, sharing and forwarding their articles. An outfit like the “Guardian” will see certainly more than half of the revenue of every Ukraine article go away, unless they keep their pro-Ukrainian customers satisfied.

Compare and contrast with the new information channels.

A two-person outfit like The Duran has no overhead costs. They broadcast from their living rooms. A guy like Judge Napolitano will interview his (smart) colonels from his home office. Guys like iEarlGrey and The New Atlas will rely only on the reputation of trustworthiness they get, and know that this will allow them to weather any emotional storm among their readers. If they chase public opinion, they will soon disappear. If they are truthful they will have ups and downs, but will prosper in the end as their non-existent overhead allows them to weather any storm, and make good money in the process.

It goes without saying that other pressures apply. In the UK, the Government pays subsidies to the traditional press. Do you think they will defy the hands that feeds them by exposing every day the monstrous lies of the British Government? Me neither.

Of course, the “fact checking” forms will be satisfied.

“Vladimir Putin, whom many say has cancer, is reportedly desperately looking for a way out from the situation in Crimea. ‘He really is contemplating suicide, but in reality, he could be killed before he can do even that’, a source familiar with the Kremlin disclosed to us”.

I am sure this will get past every fact checker. You only need to show him that it is true that some say Putin has cancer, & Co. What remains out of all this, is integrity.

It goes for everything else. “Cardinal Pell, who was accused of sexual abuse of minors before he died, was considered by some of his fellow Cardinals a devastating influence on the Church”.

It really is very easy.

In the long term, this has led – and will continue to lead – to loss of readers, as more and more realise there is no need for a propaganda outlet with a prestigious name to know what’s happening. Micro-companies with quality material will take their eyeballs, their time, and the relevant revenue.

The mass media will go, unless they change, the way of Budweiser Light.

Not that I am sad about it.