Brett – As the recent, past presidential election unfolded, and a certain candidate was calling into question the very validity of our “fourth pillar” of democracy (a free press), I wished we'd had an Edward R. Murrow-type news practitioner, with a publicly-accepted reputation, and well-regarded journalistic legacy, who could and would speak truth to power.
Much of contemporary journalism's reputation, unfortunately, has been squandered in the pursuit of ratings and ad revenues that support the ever growing voraciousness of for-profit, corporations, which underpin the operations of modern-era journalism.
As reputation and credibility are essences earned only through time and action, it will take a while for journalism's consumers to recognize and understand these assets can now be found almost exclusively among independent and not-for-profit news outlets, and accept the need to fund the sources, which reinforce our democracy's fourth pillar.