Following utter failure
Hard to talk about anything to come for American journalism in 2025 without dwelling on the failures of 2024…because journalism failed us.
It failed its role in our democracy. I’ve been utterly disinterested (and rather disgusted) by blame hurled at activists by the Democratic Party and its allied pundits. But I am not above hurling blame, and mine is squarely aimed at journalism. Not all its practitioners, obviously. There are exceptional stories to tell. But the dominant, mainstream industry — the major print and web publications, television and cable outlets, national radio — utterly, utterly failed to convey the information that we needed to prevent a fascist movement from gaining power in the United States. What greater failure could there be for journalism?
Far too many in this country were uninformed, misinformed, or simply lied to about the topics that journalism is meant to communicate clearly, truthfully, and widely. Will it do better in 2025? I fear it’s too late for that conversation. More realistic may be: How will it survive at all in 2025?
Damon Krukowski is a musician (Damon & Naomi), writer, and organizer for United Musicians and Allied Workers.
Related Knowledge Center: Theoretical journalism
Journalism as a profitable product has been in decline for years, raising the questions of what the news is for and what people are willing to pay for.
Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics
News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.
Related Knowledge Center: 2025: looking ahead
A number of tech and journalism organizations examine trends in the year ahead.
Related Knowledge Center: 2024: looking back
News organizations of many flavors look back on the year just ended.