Government Corruption Escalated as the Fourth Estate Lost its Way and Ceased to Exist

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

A fact no one can dispute and no one will talk about. Our founding fathers guaranteed protection for the free press with a single purpose in mind: to force government transparency and prevent corruption. It has been known as the “Fourth Estate” for 248 years. However, the facts prove that it has not existed for more than two decades.

America and American businesses have become inextricably linked. The United States is about money, not the welfare of its people.

Look at the last two years. Campaigning for the presidency began early in 2023 as Trump increased the number of his hate rallies. When the election is over, billions of dollars will have been spent to secure a position which pays $400,000 per year with an additional expense account of $50,000 annually.

The 2024 campaign season is expected to cost 15.9 billion dollars, exceeding the old record in 2020 of 15.1 billion.

The media’s share of this ridiculous sum is estimated at 12.32 billion dollars.

Understanding the fact that America’s campaign season is nearly 10 times longer than any other developed nation, the cost is as understandable as it is criminal. This waste of money is completely unreasonable and a crime against humanity. One-half of all Americans struggle to survive on a daily basis, and political parties spend outrageous sums of money to win positions in government which pay far less than the public sector.

Advertising during our general election years is boring, irritating, composed mostly of lies and half-truths. Unfortunately, most Americans believe the ads and vote according to what they see and hear on the boob tube. Contributing to this travesty is the right-wing propaganda machine, Fox News.

I offer you some advice, based on my decades of participation in the election process privately and publicly. Do not believe anything. The polls are based on unreliable data. Most of the stories about the candidate’s campaigns are exaggerations intended to attract more readers and television viewers. In the era of communication overload, most of the information is inaccurate or the product of someone’s imagination. Remember, the only goal of television and print reporting is increased interest by the average voter. Elections are all about money in every aspect, not about the candidates or issues.

If the truth was reported: if the media would do the right thing: Trump would have little or no support from the average voter. Elections have become a circus sideshow and nothing else.

The truth has become rare in America.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Find my novels on Amazon

Sources: https://hbr.org/1995/05/why-the-news-is-not-the-truth

https://pirg.org/edfund/articles/misinformation-on-social-media/