The Democratic Party remains the victim-of-choice for the mainstream media, who would have us believe that Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation have nothing better to do than use hackers to influence American elections. Better to deny the populist will.
A forerunner attack on the same liberal establishment can be traced to the Watergate Scandal of 1972 when reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein forever tipped journalism away from a balanced reporting of facts in favor of a media with a socialistic purpose, one that has made it more powerful than government itself. Politicians know this implicitly, from the time they raise their first campaign dollar to their lucrative reelection as incumbents. Play ball with the media or else. There is no other political voice that counts.
Reporters like Woodward and Bernstein may have brought down an earlier GOP president, but Donald Trump was wealthy enough to remain politically independent of the media. They hate him for this. Even Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has observed that “The journalists in America are no longer covering critical stories. Investigative journalism is gone. Foreign-news coverage is gone. The press is owned by five giant corporations.”
The common enemy of the now-unified print and television press is President Trump himself. All condemnations of fake news must be filtered through a dangerously narrow but likeminded liberal message. It’s not just the Russian influence-peddling story that might be twisted-and-turned to manipulate public opinion, but any made-up accusation can be similarly hyped to run the news gauntlet without meaningful challenge.
Of course, freedom of speech isn’t controlled as it may have been during World War II, especially in Axis coutries where neighbors and family members were asked to turn in so-called enemy sympathizers. Today our freedom to speak an unpopular opinion is actually welcomed—but only from politically insignificant sources, those without any power to influence or change. Grumble to a friend if you must. Venting relieves political pressure.
Investigative journalism has now become a Goebbels-like propaganda machine, spewing forth weaponized language, as former DOD employee Waldemar Perez asserts in “Mainstream Media As a Military Weapon,” little known and therefore still linkable.
Watergate revealed the political muscle of the 1960s, still dominant today albeit with a new look that isn’t easy to recognize. Media took charge back then. Presidents can still be brought down 
and wars ended. In short, aren’t what we call our national and state governments really just a hierarchy of middle managers? Contrary to the graphic, the government doesn’t control the media, but the other way around.
The words of liberal spiritualist Marianne Williamson come to mind: “I think the media has become incredibly corrupt. We used to have a profound tradition of investigative journalism in the United States. Some journalists were real heroes, such as Bob Woodward who helped uncover the Watergate scandal. But today he is leading the opposite charge, trying to bring down the careers of people and score easy victories. In other words, those who used to bust the status quo have now become the status quo.”
