The US media is in danger. Most urgently, it is in danger of dislocating its collective shoulder in its rush to pat itself on the back for its handling of the 2020 election.
Already we have had multiple stories celebrating the fact that, in the days since Donald Trump was safely declared the loser of the election, cable news has cut away from press conferences in which Trump or his officials tell outright lies with accusations of fraud. Print and digital outlets have been credited for adding “without foundation” or similar to their headlines or stories on the topic.
Some of us even seem ready for a return to some form of “normalcy.” TJ Ducklo, the Biden campaign press secretary, commented on Meet The Press, “President-elect Biden believes that the media is a critical part of our democracy…you’ll see a huge change in the culture and the way that this White House treats the media.” It’s as if the last four years simply did not happen.
[…]
News Item