DeKalb GA News

Trust in media has reached a historic low, a fact widely acknowledged, though reasons for the decline remain debated. Jim VandeHei, founder of Axios, shared his views on this development in a conversation with Bari Weiss of the Free Press. His explanation identifies three primary factors but is deemed by some as only partially complete.

Speaking to FOX News, VandeHei said: "What happened with Twitter is – people forget now [since] it’s a lot of conservative voices, a lot of independent voices – it was a hotbed of liberal groupthink for a long time. And it was the first time since I’ve been in this business that I would get on a feed and I would see reporters who I had trusted, who I admired, making it crystal clear what side they were on. You could tell in what they were tweeting, and you could tell in who they were following and who was following them."

He further stated that issues like the COVID-19 pandemic, the "Defund the Police" movement, and word policing led many Americans to feel dissatisfied with media coverage. "Then came along, kind of, the COVID, Defund the Police, word policing, where I think a lot of Americans were looking around going ‘that doesn’t sit right with me.’ And the way it’s being covered didn’t sit right with them," VandeHei added.

VandeHei also highlighted the media's handling of President Biden's mental state as another contributing factor. "People were saying, ‘I can see with my own two eyes that the guy seems pretty old, probably doesn’t seem capable of being the president in the next term and yet there’s not a whole hell of a lot of coverage of it,’” he said.

VandeHei's perspective on media trust was shared on social media by "Honestly with Bari Weiss," detailing his theory of a three-phase collapse: exposure of bias by Twitter, COVID-19 and related issues, and insufficient coverage of President Biden's capabilities.

Critics of VandeHei's explanation argue that while Twitter indeed highlighted journalist biases, the concerns have wider roots. They point out past instances like the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story and argue for a broader overhaul of media practices to rebuild trust.

If the media intends to regain public confidence, substantial reforms might be required.