Seventy-three years ago today, on January 14, 1952, the media gave us its version of breakfast: the debut of NBC’s Today show, with Dave Garroway at the helm. A revolutionary idea, they said. Morning news that could make you feel informed and slightly superior before your second cup of coffee. Garroway even signed off with a calm, reassuring “Peace.” Because nothing says “everything’s fine” like a guy in a suit telling you to chill before dropping a report on the Korean War.
Fast forward to now. Media? Oh, it’s still serving breakfast, but it’s a cold bowl of existential dread with a side of “We’re all doomed.” Take The Washington Post—remember their slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness”? Well, apparently, so does their revenue. Last year, they lost $100 million. Not on production costs, mind you. Just on finding readers who don’t already have 17 other subscriptions. It’s not so much democracy dying in darkness as it is people saying, “Eh, I’ll just Google it.”
And then there’s Meta, the artist formerly known as Facebook. They’ve decided that “free speech” is more important than “fact-checking,” which is like saying your drunk uncle’s rant at Thanksgiving deserves a Pulitzer. Advertisers are panicking, because nothing says “brand safety” like ads running next to conspiracy theories about lizard people.
Meanwhile, cybercriminals have been treating media outlets like an all-you-can-hack buffet. Remember when Sinclair Broadcast got hit with ransomware in 2021? They couldn’t air the weather. THE WEATHER. Imagine being the hacker who’s like, “Let’s hold meteorology hostage.” What’s next, ransom notes for horoscopes?
And then there’s the political side. French President Emmanuel Macron called out tech billionaires—cough Elon Musk cough—for meddling in elections. Now, I’m not saying tech CEOs are running shadow governments, but if they start issuing passports, I’m buying a bunker.
In the U.S., things are just as fun. Threats, lawsuits, defamation settlements. ABC recently shelled out $15 million because apparently calling people liars on live TV can get expensive. Who knew?
So here we are, 73 years after Today changed the game, and the media is like your overly opinionated aunt who’s also running for class president. It’s loud, messy, occasionally brilliant, and always under attack. But we’re still watching. Because deep down, we know we can’t look away. Just like Dave Garroway wanted. Peace.
