The elite media -- self-absorbed but not self-aware
SAN DIEGO -- Riddle me this: How can the so-called elite media be so self-absorbed and still have so little self-awareness?
Today's journalists too often make themselves the story. If a reporter gets arrested at a protest, he'll be on the Sunday shows doing what he is not supposed to be doing: expressing his opinion.
Yet these same journalists are incapable of seeing themselves in the harsh light in which most Americans see them.
Not good. The media are supposed to tell everyday Americans what's happening in the world and explain what it means to them. How can they do either if they haven't the foggiest idea what's going on and can no longer relate to their audience?
To top it off, the occupant of the White House has a knack for bringing out the worst in the Fourth Estate.
After President Trump skipped the recent White House Correspondents' Association dinner, one popular narrative was that Trump was wiping his feet on the First Amendment. But in their eagerness to be martyrs, journalists missed the real story: Trump's attempts to brush back the media are usually in self-defense.
The president was smart to skip the party. After all, he was probably going to be the pinata. With a roomful of journalists piling on, the goal would have been to insult and humiliate him to his face.
Trump instead sought refuge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he spoke to what he called "a much, much larger crowd and much better people."
As if to prove his point, Politico reporters Josh Dawsey and Ian Kullgren took a snooty shot at the simple farm folk who gathered to hear Trump, noting in their article how "the faint smell of cow dung" filled the air.
It's no secret that most of the media types in New York and Washington didn't vote for Trump. Many still claim that they don't understand why anyone would do such a thing. Some still chalk up Trump's victory to nefarious influences such as racism or fear of cultural change.
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