Nathan Pippenger:
...[W]e are facing a particularly bold form of indifference to the truth, a surprising rejection of deference to the press’s traditional role, and an alarming acceptance of these trends among voters—and that these extreme trends are pretty much confined to the right. This point deserves to be repeated: The tactical and ideological extremism of the contemporary GOP is enabled by the media’s refusal to admit that this is not a bipartisan problem. The Republican Party has gotten away with its drift towards extremism in large part because political reporters are loath to admit that not all pathologies are bipartisan. In this case, the evidence’s stubborn refusal to fit that familiar trope should have been a signal that the old formula doesn’t apply here. You could call this a reluctance to admit the sad truth, but it actually reads more like a refusal—one born of a misguided worry that the appearance of one-sidedness represents a more dangerous threat to journalism than simple inaccuracy. (our emphasis)
It's tiresome to repeat, but the corporate media in this country are hopelessly compromised. Their dread of being labeled "partisan" absolutely shackles any ability to call out the lies and nihilist extremism of the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party. It's not "balance" or "objectivity," it's servility. As long as there's a "corporate" in "corporate media," that's not going to change.
