The Story Cannot Always Be the Reaction of the Republican Party

By Charles C. W. Cooke

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

 

The American media is likely unsalvageable because, whatever happens, it remains entirely unable to grasp why people dislike it so much. Take, by way of example, Axios’s summary of Sunday’s 60 Minutes debacle, which begins:

 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally with his eyes on the White House, is dialing up a dispute with “60 Minutes” — seizing on a juicy chance to ingratiate himself with the GOP base by bashing the media.

 

Why it matters: It’s a political gift akin to all the Fox fodder that Sen. Tom Cotton gobbled up after the N.Y. Times revolt over his op-ed.

 

That’s the story, is it? That DeSantis is “seizing” on CBS’s world-class dishonesty? The issue here is his reaction to being so brazenly lied about? The need-to-know précis is that he’s annoyed by the press’s penchant for deliberately spreading baseless conspiracy theories? That he might “bash” those who did it? That he’s been accorded a “juicy chance” to highlight bad behavior?

 

Just look at that “Why it matters” summary. Evidently, it is the considered opinion of Axios that what “matters” here is not that CBS’s flagship “news” show has exhibited such unyielding corruption that it has been called out as such by prominent Democrats, but that CBS’s egregious conduct has presented its victim with “a political gift.”

 

The first step to reform is admitting you have a problem. And the press simply can’t do it. Hell, even rival outlets are unprepared to do it to each other — unless, of course, they’re taking shots at Fox. Every time this happens, the press withers a little more on the vine. It’ll notice eventually — but by then it’ll be too late.