First, an explanation. Kris Worrell, Editor in Chief, and Brian Colligan, Opinion Editor of the Virginian Pilot, decided to publish these editorial cartoons that accuse you of being a mindless hater and a stone-cold killer because Fox News feeds you hate. Freddy DeBoer believes it's "displacement."
Displacement is a psychological defense mechanism in which a person redirects a negative emotion from its original source to a less threatening recipient. A classic example of the defense is displaced aggression. If a person is angry but cannot direct their anger toward the source without consequences, they might "take out" their anger on a person or thing that poses less of a risk.
The problem is that people working in newspapers are in a dying industry. They got into the business because it sounded great, and there was no heavy lifting. They may have student loans that they can't pay off. Journalism was once a place where you could earn a decent living, now you can't. As newspapers lose revenue, they look at salaries - usually the biggest line item in any company's cash flow statement and reduce headcount, cut pay, and eliminate benefits.
Newspapers are being combined to cut costs, but in the process, jobs are eliminated. No one is immune. The editors and writers who are hanging on to their jobs with their fingernails are going to displace their anger at their situation. They will turn their anger to less threatening recipients: people who voted for Trump, Glenn Younkin, or people who watch Fox News.
The Virginian Pilot - along with virtually all of the legacy media - are so reflexively Left that virtually every article manages to either insult or mislead ordinary Americans. An entire parallel media channel has sprung up to serve Americans interested in news and political discourse.
Freddy DeBoer is a writer for Substack, a subscription service for news and opinion. He asks:
"...why are so many people subscribing to Substacks? What is the traditional media not providing that they’re seeking elsewhere? Why have half a million people signed up as paying subscribers of various Substack newsletters, if the establishment media is providing the diversity of viewpoints that is an absolute market requirement in a country with a vast diversity of opinions? You can try to make an adult determination about that question, to better understand what media is missing, or you can read this and write some shitty joke tweet while your industry burns to the ground around you. It’s your call.
The people in the legacy media see their ship sinking. They see their future is in doubt. Several years ago, one suggested that coal miners who were losing their jobs "learn to code." It was a cruel joke, an exhibition of how they felt about a group of people they looked down on as their inferiors. As news people lost their jobs, the compliment was returned.
Let me suggest a more practical solution, learn a useful trade. The world does not need another editor spreading hate and division. It needs people who can fix a dishwasher or install a light fixture. Get a real job.
No comments:
Post a Comment