Journalism struggles to find a new model of legitimacy
“There’s no going back to a model of journalism that leans into bothsidesism to secure loyalties across the partisan spectrum.”
Professional journalism faces a legitimacy crisis. The Trump years brought one set of problems to the foreground; the years ahead will bring others more clearly into view.
The model of professional journalism that is most familiar in the United States is not timeless. It first arose under particular conditions in the early 20th century. That’s when university programs in journalism first opened their doors and journalists started crafting professional codes. In this vision, journalists were supposed to acquire the expertise to decide what counts as news and how to report it. Their professional discretion was purported to be the key to resisting pressures from political leaders, business interests, and audiences.