Free Republic

The light is blinking red. Media crises and controversies seem to be reaching a tipping point. Dissatisfaction with the media ranges from disgust and outrage to general suspicion. This sensibility is spreading like a virus via the blogosphere, media watchdogs, and books written by media insiders. Factors include inappropriate influence by political figures, use of unreliable anonymous sources, use of non-existent sources, laziness, general dishonesty, corporate bean-counters, corporate influence on content, pressure to not displease advertisers, infotainment mentality, staff cutbacks, loss of morale in the newsroom, payola, lack of opportunity for enterprise reporting or the pressures of the 24-hour news...