Why the American media and their critics won't stop telling the same lie
The American media has a bootleggers-and-Baptists problem.
"Bootleggers and Baptists" is one of the most useful concepts in understanding how economic regulation works in the real world. Coined by economist Bruce Yandle, the term describes how groups that are ostensibly opposed to each other have a shared interest in maintaining the status quo. Baptists favored prohibition, and so did bootleggers who profited by selling illegal alcohol. And politicians benefited by playing both sides.
There's an analogous dynamic with the press today.
Across the ideological spectrum, from the Chomskyite left to the Bannonite right, partisans, politicians and journalists themselves inflate the power, influence and importance of "the media."
Let's stay with the journalists for a moment. Members of all professions have a tendency to hold themselves in high regard. Nearly everyone, from politicians to plumbers, wants to believe that what they do matters. But with the possible exceptions of politicians and actors, journalists probably have the highest estimation of their own importance.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/why-the-american-media-and-their-critics-won-t-stop-telling-the-same-lie/ar-AA1vvMXJ?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=6f5129968c324cd697a09b404f5ea421&ei=98
