Too boring to report? U.S. Journalism in free fall...

[TygrBright]

Let's start with the simple "what happened":

Senior (REALLY SENIOR - as in, 'endowed with power to discuss and approve policy-level actions based on the Administration's overall foreign policy agenda, including the Vice President', not just 'part of the traveling State Dept. and Security Agencies medicine show making an appearance for photo ops') American officials met with REALLY SENIOR (as in, 'including the head of state') Mexican officials to discuss bilateral cooperation on a number of topics.

When did it happen? This past Tuesday and Wednesday.

What were some of the results? Quoting from the White House readout:

"...the delegations advanced preparations for the upcoming relaunch of the U.S.-Mexico High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED), which will be held in Washington on September 9. They discussed opportunities to better integrate our economies to make them more resilient, including the potential to strengthen and pivot supply chains in alignment with our domestic efforts to build back better...

...National Security Advisor Sullivan also affirmed our cooperation on health security, including assessing the current COVID-19 situation on the ground in both countries and collaborating to manage the pandemic together...

...Officials underscored the importance of fostering development in southern Mexico and Central America to address the root causes of irregular migration, and will work toward deeper collaboration within the Root Causes Strategy. They discussed current irregular migration flows and committed to jointly managing safe, orderly migration that respects human rights. The National Security Advisor and Mexican leaders also affirmed their commitment to a regional approach to migration..."

Mexican coverage of the meetings was cautiously positive and noted that President Biden will be invited to visit Mexico in September.

AP, Reuters, and WaPo each published a brief recap of the White House readout with no analysis or commentary and very little expansion on the WH release. Props to Reuters for adding deets from the official phone call (Tuesday) transcript on the numbers of vaccine doses being supplied to Mexico by the U.S. government.

And that's it.

Several local papers published the AP and Reuters versions, but I couldn't find any of them went to the trouble of identifying WHICH aspects of economic, security or health collaboration are important and why, or any details of how these meetings might have advanced the Administration's goals in those areas. None of them provided any detail on the "Root Causes Strategy" referred to.

No backgrounders on the participants, no solicitation of direct quotes or additional questions answered by State Dept or security agency spokespeeps, as far as I can tell there were no questions on the topic at either the 8/11 or 8/12 press briefings, although the readout was available on the 11th.

No analysis of the immensely important strategic relationship between America and Mexico, or the recent history of how attempts to solve problems affecting both have succeeded or failed and why that might be. No color pieces exploring specifics of how U.S./Mexico diplomacy has had real-world, day-to-day impact in Americans' lives. (And it has - big time. And will continue to do so.)

No commentary on how the current approaches compare to other potential strategies, or what they might signal in terms of other aspects of the Administration's agenda for the relationship. Nothing about what it might mean in financial and/or security commitments, what key elements of cooperation might prove to be most challenging and why, etc.

Nothing at all, really.

And yet, in terms of this Administration doing important foreign policy things that are going to have a real effect on Americans' future, it is WAY, WAY more important than the details of our final days as a military force in Afghanistan.

But... it's not clickbait. It's not full of potential short-term controversy over ephemeral details. It doesn't allow semi-informed professional bloviators to opine endlessly on what are essentially pointless differences in framing, ideology, etc.

I am increasingly concerned that we are losing any grip at all on competent journalism in America, to a badly-structured and shrinking web of oligarchic "news" corporate profiteers run by beancounters obsessed with clicks, ad revenue, and next quarter's financial statements.

There is a reason that a free press was so highly regarded by the designers of our system of government, and why it has been called "the fourth pillar of democracy."

And it is not dying, not at all. Instead, it is morphing into a toxic, venal, bloated machine lurching through the public perception on a smash-and-grab raid, using fear and sensation and cheap effects to extract maximum cash for minimum quality of information.

disgustedly,
Bright

[Bev54]

1. It doesn't fit with the MSM reporting of the crisis at the border

and how Biden's admin is in chaos because of it.

[TygrBright]

2. That, too.

By almost any standard you can think of other than "keep the skeery brown people OUT", this Administration is doing incredible work on one of our most critical foreign policy issues, dealing more effectively with a strategic relationship than any Administration in recent memory.

But, as you say, not part of the "run in circles, scream and shout" narrative about "TEH BORDER CRISIS!!!!!!"

wearily,
Bright

[stillcool]

3. I've convinced myself that

I need to divorce myself from all of it. An awful lot of bullshit doesn't smell like bullshit. When discovering I have indeed stepped into something, and my shoe stinks to high heaven, I have no idea how it got there. Most of the time I don't notice at all, having my mind making decisions on bogus information. It's so depressing and infuriating....but it's only life.

[Hekate]

4. I share your disgust -- and add my dismay

[alwaysinasnit]

5. K&R Excellent posting.

The previous decades of media consolidation have exacerbated this situation, to the detriment of our democracy. Thanks Bright.

[Kid Berwyn]

6. Since Nov. 22, 1963.

The nation’s mass media have served to manipulate, not inform.

[Phoenix61]

7. Yep, there's a reason almost all news is negative.

Our brains are hardwired to attend to anything that triggers the Fight, Flight, or Freeze response. It’s a survival instinct and the media plays off it all the time.