“The enemy of the people” are at it again; the Donald Trump Presidency has provided insight into a fractured media that is losing its grip on reality. The left-wing media outlets declared war against the sitting President, while the right-wing media outlets are in bed with the President; and every other journalist is considered “Fake News”, and there isn’t a solution to the problem.

As a young journalist, I’m worried about the current trend of distrusting media unless the content shares the person’s viewpoint. Fox News viewers are great at questioning liberal media, but it’s not the same for their network, and it’s the same for left-leaning people. And everyone blames the media for everything; if there is a problem, chances are the media-constructed it.  

But there is a reasonable middle ground that suggests that some journalists have done their job well, while others follow sensationalism and stories that generate views instead of pursuing true stories. 

The solution to this problem is simple: journalists, including myself, must challenge all politicians equally. 

What happened?

Well, several media organizations chose a side, and hard-hitting well-covered stories only occurred depending on the politician’s views.

For example, Fox News does not attempt to uncover lies told by the Trump administration but did so under the Obama administration. CNN and MSNBC work to uncover the follies of the current administration but rarely did real journalism during Obama’s presidency. 

As journalists, we should heavily investigate every politician equally. Every politician has something to hide; there are no friends in politics. Of course, we should remain cordial with our contacts and never go after someone just to go after them—only print true stories and never falsify anything—but we should always uncover uncomfortable truths.

The politicians should understand this relationship and should expect this relationship. We are not friends with them, but we don’t hate them. We are only attempting to tell stories, and if a politician fails to accept this relationship then they are antagonistic towards democracy and liberty—or they have something to hide.

But this system only works if the media treats every politician the same and does not let bias get in the way of truth.