Follow up + a note about ideology

First: thank you everyone for your responses. I’m overwhelmed, surprised, and heartened by your reaction. Over the last couple of years, I was starting to think that people don’t care about the news (inside the industry or out), but you do care and that gives me enormous hope that change can and will happen. And there is no way I can do this by myself, so I welcome the moral support.

Second: I feel the need to say something about how Fox News reported my story yesterday. The reporter contacted me for an interview. To be honest, I wasn’t inclined to do an interview with Fox for all the reasons I outlined in the piece (I don’t know if I can trust them, because again, like MSNBC, their job is to rouse their audience). I hadn’t responded yet when they posted their story anyway.

As it turns out, Fox News inadvertently proved me right. My concern, clearly stated in the post, is with the entire industry because each outlet uses the same funding model. That includes Fox News, of course, but they couldn’t help but to turn my statement into a divisive piece of clickbait. The headline skewed the intention of my piece and they removed almost all of the context in which I explain the systemic nature of the problem. That is unfortunate, but not surprising.

I regret if my piece was presented as an attack on a single network, but that only gives me motivation to continue on this new path. It’s just another example of the division I’m trying to alleviate. My purpose isn’t to drive people away from the industry, but to raise awareness (as a first step). We all deserve better and we can do better.

Lastly on this point, I have to emphasize that my concerns are not ideological in nature. My concerns are economic. The flawed structure of the industry affects everyone. And that means everyone - red state, blue state, purple, whatever. My goal is to work to create a fair arena for discussion, debate, and reliable information. Thoughtful, independent voices should be promoted. I firmly believe that our democracy will not succeed otherwise.

Please keep sending your thoughts and reactions. There is so much more I have to share with you. I hope to have a plan very soon and I will let you know when that happens. You all are hungrier to address this problem than I thought.

Also please note: I am in the middle my move so I’m not yet able to respond to everyone but I will get to you. I apologize for the delay. It means a lot that you took the time to find me and to write so I will get back to you.

Thank you, all.

Ariana