Every week someone on X or YouTube declares that newspapers are finished. They insist journalism has flat lined. Credibility lost. Purpose gone. Nothing 

left to defend.

They are half right. And entirely wrong about which half.

The crisis confronting newsrooms from Lahore to Los Angeles is economic. The financial structure that once enabled reporters, photographers, fact checkers, editors, and printing presses to function has collapsed. Classified advertising migrated to free online platforms. Commercial advertisements moved to Google and Meta, which profit from the work of journalists while contributing almost nothing to its production. In Pakistan, especially, sustaining a newsroom requires remarkable resilience.

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Meanwhile, many who loudly mock legacy media rely on the most unreliable sources. They follow self-appointed commentators who broadcast sensational predictions from their living rooms, including dramatic forecasts of all sorts that vanish as quickly as they appear. No corrections are offered. No accountability exists. The cycle simply resets with the next provocation.

Bias exists. It always has. Journalism is created by people with individual experiences and judgments. Yet those who condemn so called ‘captured media’ rarely seek impartiality themselves. Audiences increasingly choose information that flatters........

© The Nation