Every couple years I go on a little rant about how journalism is fundamental to democracy. I'm realizing now that people I thought were just ideologically cynical are actually hostile to American democracy, which explains why they tried so hard to undermine journalism. A thread..

1) When you let people in power undermine fair reporting and trust in journalism because it doesn't toe an ideological line, you're doing a favor for them. They want you to be easily manipulated.

2) If you want media that perfectly reflects your worldview & ideology, excluding all else, you don't want journalism, you want propaganda. Credible journalism admits to mistakes (which is a strength, not a weakness). Propaganda doubles down on obvious lies.

3) Demonizing “the media” is lazy, but easy. Journalists do a bad job of explaining how we do our work/rarely fight back. As an industry, journalists are strapped for resources, often facing antagonistic owners or management, as well as disinformation from elected officials.

4) There's a world of difference between CNN talking heads and a local reporter at a water board meeting. One is there for the public good and the other for entertainment. If you look for more depth, you will be better served. But you've also got to read it and support it!

5) If you blame journalists for asking questions of people in power, you're buying into a scam. Journalists' only power is to ask questions, we can't make people answer. Democracy depends on questioning the powerful. That's partly journalism's role. The rest is the public.

6) Unless you're part of the 1%, being a reporter is relatively low-pay, low-glamor, long hours. Think before you spew abuse or rhetoric that demonizes fair journalism or enables disinformation. Your democracy depends on it.