Brexit and Trump win show media can no longer sway votes
The world’s mainstream media has discredited itself in its attempt to influence outcomes, writes Howard Feldman
The year 2016 will be remembered as the year that mainstream media died (after a long illness bravely borne). It fought a valiant battle and although the seriousness of its condition was not immediately known, the election of Donald Trump as the 45th US president left little doubt it is time for its burial. This is not about Trump. It is about the fact that close to 60-million people voted for him and no one in the media saw it coming. They were so caught up in their own echo chamber that they forgot their role is to report the news and not to influence it. They were so convinced by their own writing, and by their own view of life, that they neglected to look out of their offices to what was happening on the street below. It reminds me of some business meetings I have attended. The scene: a few business people walk into a boardroom. The meeting begins. The person with the most influence in the room announces the sky today is purple. There is silence. Contemplation. In an attempt to ...
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