I have a good friend who has long maintained that the Wall Street Journal was above the fray of propaganda and was the golden standard of impeccable journalism. It will be interesting how he responds to this. I kind of suspect the cognitive dissonance will cause him to brush it aside and dismiss it as a triviality.
WSJ at one time was seen like your friend describes - among that top echelon of American periodicals; doubtless in probity, wholly austere in journalistic conduct.
They have both been exposed and reduced themselves to nothing more than another blithering propagandist rag, awash in the kind of base and comical drivel once reserved for the tabloids. Speaking of which, they (quite shockingly) ACTUALLY are now outstripped by their own New York Post in the dimensions of reporting quality, readability and authenticity. ...That is, in my opinion, however; you're not required to share it.
When Rupert decided to "un-person" Trump in 2021 it seems like his vision was to make the Wall Street Journal a principle vector of attack. The Editorial page took a very sharp left and the paper itself sort of skewed in a direction similar to National Review.
They had to take a far more gentle approach with his Fox News, who merely forgot Trump's name or where his events were being held for a solid 18 months or so. Watching the talent read off a teleprompter, clumsily written to avoid saying "His" name, contorting their faces rather hysterically as they went was certainly an awkward exercise for all involved, BUT it successfully kept their anesthetized viewership stable and in place. Likely sizable portions of the dedicated audience didn't even notice.
"Hmmm... something different about The Five lately?"
"Ya know! I was thinking that too!"
Rupert could have left it there and just allowed Trump to drift off in tranquil fashion, but we both know his hubris is FAR too great for that. He had a biological NEED to go on the offense against his old pal Donald - and thus opened the door to the (profoundly damaging) transformations that WSJ has now undergone.
Bizarre as it is to say, but even The New York Times has gotten through triage at this point and begun to salvage its reputation. Unfortunately I see no such point when the bleeding finally stops coming for the Journal - and here now, potential for a yet more grievous wound, and self-inflicted.
They've no more 'ethics' than garbage like the Atlantic or Huffington's tissue paper at this point. They've become so desperate for subscriptions and relevance that they have lowered their standards to printing salacious, unvetted tripe like this story of the Trump letter.
They are another mongrel in the circle now, drooling involuntarily at the scent of any juicy meat they pick up on, haplessly jumping on the chance to break the controversy first and hold the conch shell for that day, consequences therafter be damned.
With the exception of the Washington Post in the Bezos-era, I don't think any single publication has fallen further. They are just another one of the circus clowns, hypnotically skipping around the may pole that Trump has captured them all with.
Wow. Thanks for the overview. Not being a WSJ reader, I was not aware. Reminds me of the fall of Scientific American: "It is neither scientific, nor American"---Edward Teller.
I have a good friend who has long maintained that the Wall Street Journal was above the fray of propaganda and was the golden standard of impeccable journalism. It will be interesting how he responds to this. I kind of suspect the cognitive dissonance will cause him to brush it aside and dismiss it as a triviality.
WSJ at one time was seen like your friend describes - among that top echelon of American periodicals; doubtless in probity, wholly austere in journalistic conduct.
They have both been exposed and reduced themselves to nothing more than another blithering propagandist rag, awash in the kind of base and comical drivel once reserved for the tabloids. Speaking of which, they (quite shockingly) ACTUALLY are now outstripped by their own New York Post in the dimensions of reporting quality, readability and authenticity. ...That is, in my opinion, however; you're not required to share it.
When Rupert decided to "un-person" Trump in 2021 it seems like his vision was to make the Wall Street Journal a principle vector of attack. The Editorial page took a very sharp left and the paper itself sort of skewed in a direction similar to National Review.
They had to take a far more gentle approach with his Fox News, who merely forgot Trump's name or where his events were being held for a solid 18 months or so. Watching the talent read off a teleprompter, clumsily written to avoid saying "His" name, contorting their faces rather hysterically as they went was certainly an awkward exercise for all involved, BUT it successfully kept their anesthetized viewership stable and in place. Likely sizable portions of the dedicated audience didn't even notice.
"Hmmm... something different about The Five lately?"
"Ya know! I was thinking that too!"
Rupert could have left it there and just allowed Trump to drift off in tranquil fashion, but we both know his hubris is FAR too great for that. He had a biological NEED to go on the offense against his old pal Donald - and thus opened the door to the (profoundly damaging) transformations that WSJ has now undergone.
Bizarre as it is to say, but even The New York Times has gotten through triage at this point and begun to salvage its reputation. Unfortunately I see no such point when the bleeding finally stops coming for the Journal - and here now, potential for a yet more grievous wound, and self-inflicted.
They've no more 'ethics' than garbage like the Atlantic or Huffington's tissue paper at this point. They've become so desperate for subscriptions and relevance that they have lowered their standards to printing salacious, unvetted tripe like this story of the Trump letter.
They are another mongrel in the circle now, drooling involuntarily at the scent of any juicy meat they pick up on, haplessly jumping on the chance to break the controversy first and hold the conch shell for that day, consequences therafter be damned.
With the exception of the Washington Post in the Bezos-era, I don't think any single publication has fallen further. They are just another one of the circus clowns, hypnotically skipping around the may pole that Trump has captured them all with.
Sad to see really. Godspeed.
Wow. Thanks for the overview. Not being a WSJ reader, I was not aware. Reminds me of the fall of Scientific American: "It is neither scientific, nor American"---Edward Teller.