Margaret Sullivan, the former ombudsman for The New York Times, now runs a blog called American Crisis. As the most pivotal presidential election approaches, she evaluates the media’s performance and makes a final plea.
Despite the good work done by some major news outlets, Sullivan believes that the overall media coverage has fallen short in conveying the true stakes of the election to the nation. She criticizes the media for not adequately highlighting the dangers posed by Trump and for sometimes treating him as a mere sideshow. Even supposedly independent mainstream media outlets have been guilty of this, with Fox News being singled out as a major contributor to right-wing propaganda.
Sullivan points out a recent study by Media Matters, which found that Fox News devoted significantly more coverage to Trump’s McDonald’s stunt than to his threats to Social Security. She criticizes commentators who downplay the seriousness of the situation and calls for a shift in focus towards the real dangers of a Trump presidency.
As the election draws nearer, Sullivan urges all media outlets to rectify their past mistakes and emphasize the critical importance of the upcoming election. She stresses that the future of American democracy hangs in the balance and that the stakes are incredibly high. While she acknowledges that it may be too late to make significant changes in the last two weeks before the election, any improvement in coverage could still have a meaningful impact.
Sullivan invites readers to share their thoughts on the media’s coverage and encourages everyone to pay close attention to the information being presented in the final stretch of the campaign. She believes that even small improvements in media coverage could potentially make a difference in such a closely contested election.