. . . but that assumes that “the media” is a single institution. Why would that be? We have lots of independent journalism institutions, don’t we?No:
People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary. - Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (Book I, Ch 10)Do our independent journalism institutions ever meet together? Only continuously, 24/7, since the founding of the Associated Press before the Civil War.
IMHO they don’t even need to meet - they know instinctively what they have to do because they are all part of what Marx would recognise as a “Class” that today encompasses all mainstream news and entertainment and owns pro-sport and most politicians.