Today we talk with former Sunday editor at the Chicago Sun-Times and former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune Mark Jacob about a crisis in media like nothing we have ever seen before. Criticizing the media is nothing new. Â But today, the fracturing of the media landscape, the rise of social media, the battle for attention and eyeballs online, and the willingness to brazenly disregard the truth on the part of some politicians have left the media reeling, and unable to help its readers, viewers, and listeners understand what is real and what is invented.
The blizzard of lying is coming disproportionately from the Republican Party, and the mainstream media is giving those lies “more credence, more time, and more legitimacy.” It’s a demoralizing and dangerous situation in a democracy that requires that people have real facts and good faith analysis. The good news: Mark has some ideas about how to fix things. Â The not-so-good news? None of them are easy.
