Orange man bad: Russiagate, the rise of boomer journalism, narrative and pro-social lying.

Abstract

This chapter argues Russiagate reveals something profound about the changing nature of journalism. Although journalism had been evolving for decades, Russiagate acted as a catalyst making the change clear and visible. The metamorphosis is best understood through the lens of generational cohort theory which reveals a shift from Victorian Liberal Journalism – which privileges the impartial search for truth, to Boomer Journalism – which privileges journalism’s ethical-political responsibilities. Boomer Journalism is characterized by the dominance of narrative and its tolerance of pro-social lying. The election of President Trump sparked a moral panic because he rejected much of the ideology of the Boomer generation. The mainstream media responded by constructing a narrative in which Donald Trump was ‘Orange Man Bad’ – a folk devil who sought a return to the values of the pre-Boomer era. To test this hypothesis, this chapter examines two news stories that show Donald Trump’s political opponents in a bad light. What is found is that mainstream journalism did not report these stories symmetrically – i.e., in the same way it reported Russiagate. It is concluded that Russiagate was an historically significant moment of rupture revealing the extent to which mainstream journalism has changed.