I’ve said this before, but I think it’s important to highlight again. One of the main motivations for my writing is when I see something widespread that virtually nobody is talking about. Although they still make millions or billions of dollars each year, there’s been a mass exodus from mainstream media and news publications. This happened because of bias, allegiance to the all-mighty dollar, and an overall lack of coverage of important topics. Because of this, you might be like me and have turned to smaller or independent sources and publications. But what most people don’t realize, is there’s a massive news bias that nobody seems to talk about or realize is there.
I’m not a narrative writer, but I feel like the best way to paint this picture for you is to tell a story, which can double as a thought experiment.
Staying Informed
Each day, you’re bombarded by news whether you like it or not. But you’re probably like many adults where you tune in and follow news to stay informed. You want to know what’s going on in the country or the world so you can stay up-to-date, and for a long time, you probably did this through some of the most mainstream outlets. Maybe you still do.
For years, if you wanted to be informed, there were only a few places to turn. If it was on TV, you had to turn to some of the big stations to find out what’s going on. Whether it was ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, or one of the others, these were the go-to places.
The news is complex, and you can’t be an expert in everything. You have enough on your plate with your expertise at your own job while you’re trying to be the best spouse, parent, family member, and friend you can possibly be. So, the news always tried to help you out by bringing on their own experts to help break down some of these complex topics. Whether it’s on the economy or social issues, the news hosts pundits from a variety of different fields to get their opinions on some of the most pressing matters of the day.
At this point, the news is being blended with opinions, and sometimes it’s difficult to separate the two. These are credentialed experts, so there’s a good chance that their opinions are fairly valid. But then, you’re also getting a mix of opinions from newscasters or popular hosts of shows who share their opinions on the different topics of the day.
Something shifted over the years, and each news station and publication began to start sharing opinions that are far more partisan. And this wasn’t limited to TV news, either. You probably noticed how this happened with the New York Times, Washington Post, and most of the other popular publications.
Maybe you didn’t mind so much because we’re all addicted to confirmation bias and love hearing people who agree with us. Unfortunately, a different issue has arisen, which is the fact that money rules all. Based on corporate interest and the need to please advertisers, what each station and publication covers started to be depicted on what would help or hurt their profit motives.
Luckily, people started to wise up to this and realize that even though social media can be a hellscape, it also gave the opportunity for new voices to be heard.
Whether it was online publications or YouTube channels, people who don’t have to answer to corporate overlords were able to cover different topics and share different opinions. Some people even left mainstream publications and news outlets to go independent because they felt like they were being restrained by the games they had to play to keep their jobs.
For you, this is great. Your primary goal when consuming the news is to stay informed, and the opinions you listen to are from people who know more than you in some specific areas.
Well, that solves the problem of the issues of the mainstream, doesn’t it?
Not exactly.
Now that you’ve left the realm of the mainstream and follow more independent publications who speak the truth, you start to notice a pattern. When you flip through your favorite podcasts, you notice they’re all covering similar topics. As you watch your favorite YouTube channels covering the news, they’re covering similar topics as well. And when you read your favorite online publications, they’re covering the same topics as well.
Actually, you may have not noticed this at all. Or maybe you did, but you assumed this was nothing to even take into consideration.
Since you no longer watch or read the mainstream, you think you can rest assured that these new places are filling in the gaps and covering what needs to be covered. If they’re all covering the same topics, nothing else is going on. And if these podcasts, YouTube channels, and publications are all bringing on similar guests, there probably isn’t really anyone else worth listening to.
Or is there more that you’re missing?
The Illusion of Variety
If the mainstream is all covering the same topics and these smaller organizations are covering the same topics from different areas, how would you know what’s not being covered?
As mentioned in a previous piece Financial Literacy: You Don't Know What You Don't Know, not knowing what’s missing from your life is a major issue. Really take a minute to think on this. Let it sink in. How would you ever know what you don’t know?
The reality is that you can’t know what you don’t know. And since you’re turning to these places to stay informed, you’re being done a massive disservice from both the mainstream as well as independent and smaller publications and news sources.
We’re driven by incentives, and no matter who you are or what your values and moral principles are, you’re still driven by incentives. I don’t care who your favorite writers, journalists, podcasters, or YouTubers are, they’re driven by incentives. As much as we wish people somehow broke away from being human, it just isn’t happening.
Nobody you watch, read, or listen to is free from the fact that we all have bills to pay and stuff we want to own to live in comfort. Some people have a higher standard of living than others, but even the equipment you need costs money. Whether you have a podcast, YouTube channel, or write, you need a microphone, or camera, or computer. And in order to do any of this, you need an internet connection.
So, to be clear, I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I understand that they have to do what they do in order to keep creating content, and some of them have a staff they need to pay. But you, the person trying to stay informed, don’t even know what you’re missing.
When I talked about the pattern of everyone covering the same topics, that’s clear as day. The issue is that you’re being presented with an illusion of variety.
You can lump just about any news or opinion content into categories: left, right, top, bottom.
Left leans liberal
Right leans conservative
Bottom favors the working class and impoverished
Top favors the upper class and massively wealthy
Typically, whatever content you’re consuming is a combination of left/right and top/bottom. For example, someone like me is usually consuming content discussing left/bottom, but someone else might be consuming right/bottom.
Regardless of the quadrant, there are certain stories and topics that get the most attention. Due to incentives, you’ll see everyone covering the same topics. The illusion of variety comes in because you’re getting different opinions. Most people watch the different people from the same quadrant cover the same topics. And some rare individuals watch people from different quadrants. You think you’re getting a variety, but this is the illusion.
Yes, it’s great to hear different opinions, but if your goal is to stay educated and informed, the topics have to matter as well.
Risk, Social Credit, and The Matthew Effect
Believe it or not, I hate using examples. It feels like I’m calling people out when, in reality, I don’t think many people are intentionally doing something harmful. But, my duty is to the reader, and examples help paint the picture.
So, I’ll use Bari Weiss as an example, and since some people were babies because I used Jordan Peterson and Brett Weinstein as examples, I’ll also use Krystal Ball from Breaking Points and Kyle Kulinski.
If you haven’t yet, please refer to this piece I wrote “Batya Ungar-Sargon Called Out the College Elites, but Nobody Seems to Get It”. In it, I showcase the (hopefully unconscious) hypocrisy going on.
The Illusion
Bari Weiss left the New York Times because they wouldn’t cover certain topics. Krystal Ball and her cohost Saagar left The Hill to break away from the corporate nonsense, and they’re “angle” is they cover what mainstream media won’t. I tossed Kyle Kulinski in the list because every morning, I watch the prior day’s videos from Kyle and Breaking points.
Bari Weiss clearly has a handful of topics that she’ll cover on her podcast or Substack. On her Substack, it’s more of a publication where there’s a variety of writers. As I point out in my other piece, she has a handful of writers who write there. So, the topics and the opinions are very limited.
Krystal and Saagar’s thing is that Krystal is center-left and Saagar is center-right. Going back to the quadrants, they’re covering left/bottom and right/bottom. Kyle is a self-proclaimed Social Democrat, so he’s views are left/bottom. Two channels that cover almost identical topics, which is something I see daily.
As you can see, this is an illusion of variety. If you’re skeptical, go check out some more left/bottom sources like The Humanist Report, The David Pakman Show, or The Majority Report. On average, you’ll see a lot of overlap with topics.
Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know.
The Risk
The first reason they aren’t covering more topics is that it’s not worth the risk. It’s said that mainstream chases sensationalist stories because it’ll bring in clicks, views, and money. The reality is that your favorite independent sources are doing the same thing. This is why there’s so much overlap. There are only so many topics they can cover, and they have bills to pay, so they go where the attention is.
Why risk covering a lesser-known topic? Is it worth it? Not really. But sometimes they will try to shine a light on lesser-known topic, but that’s only if they think it’s worth it. Sometimes, covering a smaller topic now and then gets less traffic, but it builds the idea of, “See. We don’t care about the traffic or revenue because we’re willing to cover something we know will get less traffic.” That’s not sustainable as a business, so if you look at the percentage compared to the other topics, it’s tiny.
Social Credit
It cracks me up every time people freak out and say we’re headed towards a social credit system. Joe Rogan does this all the time. We’ve had a social credit system since for thousands of years. Just because it’s not digital doesn’t mean it’s not there.
I’ll plug these books again because I can’t stress how important they are: Not Born Yesterday: The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe by Hugo Mercier and Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don't, and Why by Joseph Marks and Stephen Martin.
Up until about six months ago, I had no clue who Bari Weiss was. I’m not going to lie, I was drawn to her not only for her opinions but mainly for something she said in her conversation with Jordan Peterson. She said she became a New York Times editor to shuttle in new, lesser-known writers to get their voices and opinions out there. Since I started following her after that, I haven’t seen that at all from her (except for this piece).
Whether it’s her podcast or who she has writing on her Substack, it’s people who have built social credit. Why isn’t she searching for the next up and comer like she said? My guess is because it’s not worth the risk. The people she has writing for her are established and have a following, which means they have more followers who will come read their stuff at her publication. Why risk it with an unknown writer? Her podcasts are a bit better, but not by much. It’s rare she has an unknown on there.
When looking at Breaking Points or the podcast hosted by Krystal and Kyle, it’s the same issue. The guests they bring on have social credit more often than not.
So, aside from you not getting a variety of topics, you’re not getting a variety of opinions. You don’t know what you don’t know. Imagine what you may learn if one day, Bari had a high school dropout who is waiting tables write an article on her Substack. What issues would they discuss? What opinions would they have?
Well, if you’re curious, don’t hold your breath.
The Matthew Effect
I’ve discussed this quite a few times, but here’s a refresher.
The Matthew Effect is the idea that what’s big gets bigger and what’s small get smaller. For example, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer because wealth begets wealth and widens the gap. The same thing happens with news podcasts, and publications.
If Bari Weiss brings on a new writer (obviously someone with social credit), and it’s a hit, what do you think happens? She’s going to be wide open to having them write more because it’s advantageous for her publication. If a podcast or YouTube channel has a guest, and it gets more views or downloads than others, they’re going to be more open to having them return as a guest.
The Matthew Effect kicks in and thus widens the gap and lessens the chance that you’ll learn or hear something new.
Why the Hell Am I Writing This?
This piece was far longer than I anticipated, but it was motivated for a very important reason.
Right now, there is a topic being covered by every mainstream and independent news source. It’s an important topic, too. It’s about childhood mental health. Our children are suffering. Many are struggling with depression, they feel alone, and they’re turning to drugs, alcohol, self-harm, and suicide.
Let me repeat that. Our children are suffering.
There’s a gigantic piece missing from the coverage. None, and I mean none, of these outlets are covering it. Whether it’s independent or mainstream, nobody is talking about it. They’re all discussing COVID and how it’s affecting the mental health of our children, but you, the consumer of information is completely unaware of the missing piece.
You’d think that if someone came to one of these publications with evidence of something that isn’t being discussed regarding such an important topic, it’d be a no-brainer to roll with it.
Well, I wrote a draft to fill in this gap and bring attention to this important topic. It’s filled with data and credible sources. It also discusses how big and small media outlets are either misinterpreting data or being purposely negligent to push their opinions.
I’ve submitted this draft to numerous publications, and it’s been turned down or not responded to with no reason for declining.
Personally, I don’t care if they publish my piece. If they think it sucks, that’s cool. What I care about is the fact that nobody is talking about this, and you don’t even know about it. I just want people to know what’s really going on.
What kills me on a daily basis is knowing that if someone with enough social credit wrote something, it’d be picked up in no time. And that’s bullshit.
So, just know that even though you think we’ve solved the problem of mainstream media, we haven’t. I know I sound like a curmudgeon, but I really don’t care because there’s so much happening in this world that people either don’t notice or don’t talk about it. And I’m more than happy to be the person to bring attention to it.
To end on a positive note, as much as I criticize capitalism, I do see the benefit of at least giving people a chance. Due to platforms like Substack and others that I use, I’ve been able to get some traction on topics nobody is talking about. And I’m grateful for that.
I’m going to give it another day or two and then just publish that piece to my Substack. For important topics like this, I’d love for a publication to pick it up because it’ll get more eyeballs, but sometimes you just have to take the hit and do it yourself to reach a few people.
I’m currently writing a book about how we’re manipulated by the news, social media, technology, advertisers, and each other. It dives into the psychological history of manipulation, our biases, tribalism, and more.
To stay updated follow me on Twitter and Instagram @TheRewiredSoul and subscribe to the Substack.