Why does society allow professional journalism to lie without consequences...

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The media should be informing us about what is really going on, which is what newspapers used to be all about.

When?

Newspapers have never been about informing readers about what's going on.

Since the invention of the printing press, newspapers have been about trying to manipulate readers into agreeing with the editors and owners.

There was never a time when newspapers were trustworthy and reliable sources of unbiased information.

There may have been times when readers were gullible enough to think that they were, but that's a very long way from being the same thing.

Newspapers lie as much as they are permitted to; And they constantly push the boundaries to see if they can get away with lying more. And that has been the case for as long as newspapers have existed, and was true of news reporting for centuries, and probability millennia, before the first newspapers were printed.

This idea that things were better at some glorious time in the not-too-distant past is one of the more commonly seen and pernicious lies that has been a staple of news reporting since basically forever.

People love to believe that society was better in their youth. But that claim has been generally false at almost all times and places at least since the neolithic.

Absolutely! Sadly, far too many people get caught up in 'the good old days' re-imagining of the past.

Ben Franklin is a good example of past abuse of 'news' to impact public opinion, publishing under several pseudonyms.

A true history of fake news: The many identities of Benjamin Franklin - Little Village

Before the term “fake news” gained wide circulation during the 2016 presidential election season, deception had long been part of the U.S. media landscape. When Benjamin Franklin emerged as the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette, he used it to plant ironic satires, partisan potshots and other...

littlevillagemag.com

Before the term “fake news” gained wide circulation during the 2016 presidential election season, deception had long been part of the U.S. media landscape. When Benjamin Franklin emerged as the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette, he used it to plant ironic satires, partisan potshots and other false stories.

The line between fact and fiction has been blurry since the early days of journalism. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, newspapers would often print straight news alongside hoaxes, tall tales and real events told through the eyes of fictional characters — a literary form known as a sketch. Today, it is not uncommon for people to mistake satirical news stories for real events — credulously re-posting them on their social media accounts — and there is no evidence that our predecessors were any wiser.

 

[Elixir]

its going to be expected that the politicians will lie to us just like the typical used car salesmen. But the professional media should be above all that.

Do you REALLY want to see FOX News, OAN, Newsmax and Breitbart shut down?
If you don't consider them "professional media", I understand.