RICHARD BENEDETTO: An Epidemic of Media Partisanship.

So, what should we make of all this negativity on the part of The Washington Post and other national news organizations? (The Post is hardly alone.) As a newspaper reporter on the local, state and national levels for nearly 40 years, and as a journalism and political science professor for 15 years, I find it highly disturbing. I am reminded of a course I took in graduate school that focused on the responsibility of the media. I recall the professor noting that with the American press enjoying such great freedom, it becomes even more important that it wield that freedom judiciously.

“With such great freedom comes even greater responsibility” is the way that professor wisely put it. It is a lesson I never forgot. Of course, there is no law against the Post or other news organizations framing its coronavirus coverage with a highly negative and anti-Trump slant. But there is obligation to readers to present its information in a fair and balanced manner.

There was a sea change with Katrina, where they realized that if they all agreed on a narrative, even if it was false, and all stuck to it despite all criticism, they could swing an election. Since then, they’ve doubled down repeatedly, and every time you think they’ve bottomed out, they go lower. That they do this without concern for any collateral damage they might be doing to their audience or to the nation is particularly reprehensible. It’s no surprise that some call them enemies of the people.