(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)
"[I]t's increasingly difficult to communicate the urgency or importance of certain stories to bosses who have zero understanding of the world I cover,” writes tech reporter and journalist Taylor Lorenz in her new publication, User Mag.
For years, Lorenz has been covering the rise of new media, specifically focusing on how an increasingly radicalized right wing has successfully used technology and social media platforms to mainstream hateful talking points and attack marginalized communities. Women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ communities are unfortunately most vulnerable and fall prey to their bad faith attacks and harassment. Lorenz has been a reporter and a victim of this phenomenon ever since she covered GamerGate and also exposed the hateful agenda of Libs of TikTok.
Unlike many independent reporters, Lorenz had a platform in establishment media, most recently writing a column for The Washington Post. However, she says the leadership at corporate media not only doesn’t understand how the right uses and manipulates social media to bully the majority, but they are often complicit in sanewashing the threat and allowing their platforms to launder and normalize right-wing narratives. It’s the incestuous ecosystem I’ve frequently written about at The Left Hook where journalists in DC and NYC who know better would rather trade democracy, freedom, and liberties for access, money, and ratings.
In this Chai Talk, Lorenz explains exactly why establishment media is unable to adapt to modern times, recognize the threat of MAGA, and must ultimately be abandoned due to their complicity in harming democracy and the truth.
Grab a chai and give us a listen!
Why Legacy Media Has Failed And Can No Longer Connect With the Masses