Being a contrarian isn’t much fun.
Almost wherever you go, people think you’re a fringe dweller lost in your own bubble. The world seems to prove you wrong time and again.
And you might even suffer some pretty punishable losses if you wager on your convictions.
But every so often you get vindicated in a most satisfying way when nature finally comes around to deal a heavy blow to mankind’s folly and lies. And there’s been several knock-out punches dealt against those who love engaging in falsehoods.
The once invincible machine of the fake news industrial complex is falling.
Can you sense it?
The accelerating decay of the mainstream media
For a long time, the media has conditioned people worldwide to trust everything that they say.
However, this is changing quickly. Now the industry is facing an existential threat, a consequence of increasing public distrust of media outlets. A massive drop in viewership and advertising revenue has forced management to cancel shows and cut jobs.
Earlier this week, Vice — a left-wing media outlet — filed for bankruptcy. Another one down and out.
Only a fortnight ago, rival outlet BuzzFeed closed its newsroom. Earlier this year, BuzzFeed replaced its reporters with artificial intelligence to source news stories.
Meanwhile in Hollywood, several late-night shows — including those hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert — won’t be airing as the Writers Guild of America stages a strike over pay and work conditions.
Aside from strikes, resignations, and firings, there’s been darker scandals coming to light, which the industry would want the public would forget as soon as possible.
Early last month, the FBI indicted and arrested ABC News Producer James Meek on three charges of possessing child pornography. While this news is alarming, he’s not the first one. In December 2021, CNN Producer John Griffin — who was linked to disgraced ex-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo’s show — was arrested for attempting to procure a minor and her mother for sexual favours.
What fading glory and esteem the mainstream media still possesses is falling by the wayside. We’re now seeing its sordid underbelly.
Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon — A tale of two reporters
One can even see a parable in the failure of mainstream media through two well-known US mainstream media anchors, Fox News’s Tucker Carlson and CNN’s Don Lemon. They left their jobs on the same day last month, though under different circumstances.
Tucker Carlson had enjoyed the highest viewership for cable news for a year running. His program Tucker Carlson Tonight covered many key news topics, though often at odds with the talking points of the other channels.
One of the biggest bombshells on his program was the release of footages surrounding the 6 January Capitol Hill protests that exposed FBI undercover agents fomenting unrest. He revealed that the FBI was seeking to smear supporters of President Donald Trump as rioters as they gathered to question the validity of the 2020 election.
He also exposed the slanted media coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and questioned the role of the US in providing billions of dollars of funds and armaments to Ukraine.
What may’ve been the final straw that ended his job at Fox News was a speech he delivered at The Heritage Foundation, where he let loose several truth bombs — including the corruption and collusion of government and Big Pharma.
While Tucker is out of his job, his popularity has soared. The first video he posted on his Twitter account after his exit from Fox News garnered almost 80 million hits. Several alternative news outlets are reportedly seeking to woo him over.
Fox News was the biggest loser in this episode. Several rumours have surfaced on who called for Tucker’s firing and why. Among these include suggestions that pharmaceutical companies, Dominion Systems (the software company behind the 2020 election machine vote counting controversy), and even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were seeking Tucker’s removal. Fox News’s market value fell almost US$300 million on the day Tucker resigned.
Don Lemon’s post-CNN career, on the other hand, will certainly be less successful than Tucker Carlson. The controversial host had already fallen from grace since he lost his prime-time slot last year. It was apparent that the news outlet’s woke ideology and political leanings didn’t resonate well with the public, causing its ratings to plummet. Furthermore, Don’s brash and strident on-air demeanour left a sour note to both his colleagues and viewers.
In February this year, Don copped massive backlash for criticising Nikki Haley, a potential Republican presidential candidate, as being ‘past her prime’ on CNN This Morning. His gaffe outraged his two female co-hosts so much that they left the set while on-air. He subsequently received condemnation from the CNN Chairman Chris Licht, his colleagues, and the broad public.
Rather than mellowing, he pushed on and eventually crossed the point of no return last month. In an interview with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, he talked down Vivek claiming he had no right to speak about the experience of black Americans because he wasn’t one. Doesn’t it remind you of the famous Joe Biden gaffe in 2020, ‘If you have a problem with figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black’?
Don Lemon’s exit was less dignified. He tweeted on the morning of his exit that it was his agent rather than the CNN management who informed him that he’d lost his job. Soon after, Chris Licht fired back stating Don had mischaracterised the whole incident.
It was almost poetic that even as Don was shown the door, he revealed himself to be disingenuous, dishonest, and self-absorbed.
It fits well with the profile of our mainstream media, along with its atrocious track record as the ‘Twitter Files’ and independent journalists are revealing.
The many years of living off their position of trust and influence are coming to an end.
The dawning of a new era
Some of you have waited much longer than me to see the day when the torrent of truth engulfs the lying fake news media.
We’ve been suffering indignantly and in silence. However, more people are waking up and logging off the mainstream media.
And now the media are turning on themselves as the ship’s sinking. There’s much satisfaction watching them eat their own.
As a faithful follower of The Daily Reckoning Australia, you can now claim vindication. Flourish in the truth and flounder in the lies. I hope you’ll bring your family and friends over as they see the world transform.
Your support is what allows us to retain our independence and honesty.
A new era of truth in news reporting is coming upon us…it’s time to be hopeful!
God bless,
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Brian Chu,
Editor, The Daily Reckoning Australia
