More and more things that I have read lately indicate
that major U.S. media organizations are tailoring their content to best maximize their bottom line.
Consequently, there is a trend towards bland coverage, with the media's desire that content does not offend advertisers and result in decreased revenue.
After having had access to Canadian television--and the CBC--all my life, the contrast between media organizations who are slave to "the dollar" versus "the people" is stark.
TV and newspapers still dominate how people get their news in the U.S. Because of the high barriers to entry in these markets, this means that the opinions and facts presented to viewers and readers often toe the vanilla party line spun by one or two major media conglomerates, and often uniformly lack analysis within a global context.
This is why I believe that U.S. media organizations like Salon are so important. It's also why I shelled out $30 for a yearly subscription, since they are in need of funding to survive. Salon often presents many sides to an issue (with a left-leaning slant, granted), with the result that readers are generally forced to think instead of having their opinions spoonfed to them.
I don't believe anything bad can come of that.
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