A good hedge against narrow-minded reporting is to access foreign news outlets that provide insightful perspectives on American social and political life.
The news media in the United States are still robust, but under threat from an authoritarian president and a Supreme Court that has given him more power over agency heads, some of whom have licensing authority over network broadcast affiliates. We have also witnessed a decades-long decline of CBS News, as well as dangerous consolidations of individual media companies. If it succeeds, the recent purchase of Paramount and, with it, CNN, will be consequential. The conservative-leaning iHeartMedia already holds a gigantic 870 radio stations. And most of the formerly great American newspapers have fallen into the hands of billionaire owners, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post. The heavy hand of the owner and editors at the Washington Post has been especially noticeable. Many of their best reporters have left. The old saw that you don’t want to argue with someone who buys ink by the barrel applies, even if pixels have replaced ink on paper as the most common medium.
Interestingly, Disney/ABC is pushing back against the chronic complaints of the Trump administration. But its affiliate stations are vulnerable because they must operate with licenses from the recently politicized FCC.
There are still important mainstream or somewhat progressive internet and broadcast outlets, including The Atlantic, The New York Times, Harpers, The Nation, The New Yorker, Washington Monthly, Politico, and Axios. They are still agenda setters, but their audiences represent a smaller share of the American public. And, of course, there is some good reporting everywhere. But it is also clear that editors are steering more coverage to conservative and investor-friendly positions.
A good hedge against narrow-minded reporting is to include easily accessible foreign journalists who provide different and often insightful perspectives on American social and political life. When living in England, I found British views of American affairs a refreshing change from worn-in American habits of thinking. Even beyond the U.K., a declining United States is still too big and powerful to ignore. Print outlets from around the world are obviously available on the internet. We are also in luck that cable and YouTube access provide many chances to see many English language video segments worth viewing. Some are from state-run public broadcasters, and some are from privately owned outlets. But all are usually reliable and refreshingly different. Here is an incomplete but suggestive list:
-France 24 Fair-minded and thoughtful coverage of Europe and the United States.
-DW (Germany) Like France 24, a reliable guide covering social and political events in the United States and Europe.
-Al Jazeera (Qatar) A Non-western cable news outlet with usually reliable reporting.
-BBC (U.K.) Perhaps the most honored international broadcaster and a British mainstay.
-Channel 4 (U.K.) The kind of news analysis that is harder to find in American media.
-LBC British podcast format adapted to television. Often critical but thoughtful critiques of US leaders and policies.
-Times Radio (U.K.) video podcasts featuring a range of expert opinions and commentary.
-CBC (Canada) Especially good for science news and summaries of Canadian adaptations to Donald Trump’s rages against our northern neighbors.
-Australian Broadcasting Corporation A public broadcaster with many news features packaged for YouTube.
-Reuters This British new agency has hundreds of journalists and scores of awards. It seems less visible on YouTube, but remains a staple for reliable print and photo journalism.
-Associated Press (American/international) a compilation of credible straight reporting from local journalists around the world. This makes it more like a news-cooperative than an outlet with a dominant point of view.
Simplistic reduction is a necessary way to organize our thoughts about the world. We feel safe noting that “Italians love to cook,” or “Scandinavian men are taciturn,” or “Canadians are always nice.” But I have known mean Canadians, talkative Swedes, and Italians who are indifferent eaters. Every broad conclusion where one is intended to stand for many has huge limitations. I rue the judgment of British journalists that “America is no longer a reliable friend.” That hurts because most of us have not done anything to shake our faith and affection for our British cousins. The statist approach to world news may make it easy to toss around glib conclusions. But that only works when a synecdoche is used as a blind to conceal many exceptions that those with time constraints don’t want to explain.