Monday
I have been reading the print media (though in digital form these days) for sixty-seven years.
Thirty-five years ago, I became aware from some personal interviews, that it was often inaccurate. I began to read more carefully and check facts when able.
There was a progressive deterioration. Sometimes, simply due to declining literacy levels; other times, as a result of an inbuilt bias – prejudice.
But inexorably over the decades, facts became replaced by opinions, particularly in the political arena.
2016 was a watershed year. It was the year that Donald Trump was elected President of the US of A. The media commentary of the election was truly abysmal. Pejoratives were hurled with abandon and ad hominem attacks of the most egregious nature were daily occurrences.
In 2016, finally, we reached the point where the level of media commentary dropped below the general IQ level of the American public.
Now that is saying something.