2020: The Media, the Election, the Non-Sense
Partisanship is the defining characteristic of the American media landscape. Historically, the media seemed less partisan and more reliable because it did not have any competition. The structure of 20th-century communications technology facilitated the rise of a national, cultural elite. This elite class has an inordinate influence on American culture because it makes American culture. Journalists, professors, entertainers — they produce the information we consume.
Media professions generally attract people predisposed to an interest in aesthetics and ideas, traits strongly correlated with politically liberal views. Youths with these traits pursue careers in media and participate in a positive feedback loop of hiring like-minded individuals. The cycle repeats and the professions become more ideologically homogeneous over time.
Political conservatives, who feel slighted by their exclusion from mainstream media, took quickly to the Internet as an alternative means of communication. In 2016, Trump was elected because he espoused opinions uncommon in mainstream media narratives, directly challenged the credibility of “fake news,” and utilized social media in innovative ways for a presidential candidate. His unexpected success represented an unprecedented threat to the cultural elite. Regretting the role they played in electing Trump, both the…
