By Michael Baldauf | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
Have you ever found yourself in a group where you discovered the leader was corrupt? Maybe it was a church, where the pastor was not living the message, or a volunteer organization, where the leaders were taking advantage of their positions.
I would guess if you could not do anything to correct the situation you probably got away.
People ask me why I don’t watch national newscasts on broadcast television anymore. The answer is the same. For about 40 years they have demonstrated that they are not interested in being a source for unbiased reporting. The latest Gallop Poll found that almost 70 percent of the public said they do not trust the media.
The recent elections are an example of the declining influence of the biased media. Despite the grotesquely slanted coverage of the big media organizations, including major newspapers, the majority of voters figured out what was in the best interest of the nation and voted accordingly. Election Night viewership of major networks, broadcast and cable, dropped from 50 million in 2020 to 36 million in 2024, with FOX getting the biggest share by far at 9.6 million.
The use of alternative media continues to expand. Elon Musk’s “X” platform, formerly Twitter, which is breaking through the media bias blockade, experienced record traffic on Election Night. Now Musk is celebrating the return of major advertisers after a year-long boycott. Could it be that it was hurting them more than it was hurting X?
What about local news stations? It is apparent that many Denver “news” outlets are under the thumb of the current governor. Those newsrooms seem to be facing some tough times ahead as well. Here’s a look at what a television insider magazine observed:
Election Yields Hard Lessons For Local TV News
The article asks some great questions on a national scale that every newsroom that intends to be around in five years needs to answer. Readers and viewers have more choices than ever. The math is simple. Biased reporting = shrinking audiences = shrinking revenue. The days of pandering to distinct groups and packaging it as news are coming to an end.
Michael Baldauf has worked as a chief engineer and project manager in radio since the 1980s. He is a present contributor to Radio World and other publications.
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.