As the downsizing of newsrooms and is trending and consolidation continues to define the precarious state of print journalism hanging on by a thread, a major merger between the two major newspapers Detroit is in the process of being finalized sending shockwaves across the bow of the unpatriotic American mainstream press.
With journalism unofficially/officially/gradually devolving into an irrelevant force since the Gonzo days of Hunter S. Thompson at the onset of the Vietnam conflict, truth is a subjective core concept to reporters and writers, many of which were either too young or too indifferent to recall or acknowledge the realm of the unbiased. In the presence of unpatriotic arrogance that spans two generations, the remaining living members of Baby Boomers who actually went through the rigors of a transitional time period in the US and experienced journalistic outlets that were strived towards neutrality and nearly reached a purity unfathomable in this day and age of mountains of information without a filter or at least a custodial of AI for those receiving the news on electronic devices. Unfortunately, the renaissance peaked four decades ago, and Millennial gatekeepers of the modern newsroom will never achieve a status of reporting above viscerally induced sensationalism. Forget about the youngest generations, as their minds altered by designer playground drugs will never comprehend that the majority of newspapers are still a delivered to residences as a physical medium with words that cannot be altered and folded into a parcel connecting a subscriber with the world. Though the gravitation to the digital realm threatens to make the brainchild of Guttenberg obsolete in twenty years.
The scenario in Detroit illustrates the contemporary watered-down version of the once lucrative newspaper industry that has been in free fall for two decades. According to the Associated Press, The Detroit Free Press, a subsidiary of the USA Today corporation bought out the other major player in the region. Two prominent newspapers operating within a 50-mile radius has never been a good idea, especially when owned by a single owner, as the pair of monsters are soon to be run by a sole decision-making mechanism and value system. In the wake of the recent shooting tragedy and controversy in Minnesota during the fateful ICE operation, the treatment of sensitive matters will be interesting to say the least. Does the leadership at USA Today publish contrary viewpoints between the two syndicates in highlighting operating a Conservative leaning and Liberal leaning publications, or do the decision makers promote repeat content and double their consensus and promotion of a singular political ideology? However, in the end advertising still is the engine that powers the business model.
Lost in the hazy translation among the newsrooms throughout the decades is what constitutes fair and balanced? In the modern future shock nightmare of loose definitions and ambiguous freeway signs on the information superhighway recognized if not embraced, agreement and comprise are species facing extinction. The resulting corruption and manipulation of data sparks from conflicting viewpoints leads to confusion among the public and is detrimental to the dissemination of fact over belief and is the ideal environment for inadvertent censorship and a birthplace for propaganda.
While the tedious Broadway drama is playing out in Detroit, the riveting performance capturing the hearts and minds of aloof audiences is a prime example of that decentralization can be a detriment to objectivity as the instant gratification nature of contemporary society craves a perpetual torrent of information to offset a fifteen second attention span. At this crossroads society is either won or lost, but at what cost?