Barr is going after the MSM monopoly! Speech at the RBC. It’s obvious from his final statements, he knows were the problems lie, and the power of the consolidated press is a big problem. We are the news now

From Barr’s speech:

Now, finally, let me turn to freedom of the press.

-In addition to religion and the decentralization of government power, the free press was an institution that Tocqueville believed would serve as a check on the despotic tendency of democracy. This was not because Tocqueville believed that the American press did a particularly good job elevating the public’s understanding and discourse. On the contrary, he generally took a dimmer view. As Tocqueville put it: “The characteristics of the American journalist consist in an open and coarse appeal to the passions of the populace; and he habitually abandons the principles of political science to assail the characters of individuals, to track them into private life, and disclose all their weaknesses and errors.”

-Tocqueville’s view was that a free press did not so much perform a positive good, as prevent an evil. It achieved this precisely because it was highly fragmented and reflected a wide diversity of voices. In that sense, a free and diverse press provided another form of decentralization of power that, as long as it remained diverse, made it difficult to galvanize a consolidated national majority.

In 19th-century America, the press was so fragmented that the power of any one organ was small. The multiplicity of newspapers, even in one city, cultivated a wide variety of views and localized opinion. Tocqueville contrasted this to the situation he saw in Europe, where news outlets were consolidated in major urban centers, such that a few voices were capable of influencing the opinions of the entire country

-When the diverse organs of the press begin to “advance along the same track,” wrote Tocqueville, “their influence becomes almost irresistible in the long term, and public opinion, struck always from the same side, ends by yielding under their blows.”

Today in the United States, the corporate – or “mainstream” – press is massively consolidated. And it has become remarkably monolithic in viewpoint, at the same time that an increasing number of journalists see themselves less as objective reporters of the facts, and more as agents of change. These developments have given the press an unprecedented ability to mobilize a broad segment of the public on a national scale and direct that opinion in a particular direction

-When the entire press “advances along the same track,” as Tocqueville put it, the relationship between the press and the energized majority becomes mutually reinforcing. Not only does it become easier for the press to mobilize a majority, but the mobilized majority becomes more powerful and overweening with the press as its ally.

-This is not a positive cycle, and I think it is fair to say that it puts the press’ role as a breakwater for the tyranny of the majority in jeopardy. The key to restoring the press is to cultivate a greater diversity of voices in the media.

-That is where you come in. You are one of the last holdouts in the consolidation of organs and viewpoints of the press. It is, therefore, essential that you continue your work and continue to supply the people with diverse, divergent perspectives on the news of the day. And in this secular age, it is especially vital that your religious perspective is voiced.

So where does that leave us? It might not seem like it, but I am actually an optimist, and I believe that identifying the problem is the first step in correcting it. Our nation’s greatest days lie ahead, but only if we can alter our course and pay heed to the lessons of the past

-This means fostering a culture that is truly pluralistic. It means all viewpoints must be treated fairly – not simply the viewpoints favored by our cultural elites. And it especially means giving our respect to religion as a vital pillar of our society.

-This also means working to devolve democratic choice to the lowest possible level. While the wizards in Washington might think they know best, the reality is that there is no unified “best” for every community and every person in our vast country. The solution to social ills is not to exhaust ourselves devising the perfect rule for everyone; it is to let our villages, cities, and states set the rules for their communities.

-And finally, this means encouraging diverse voices to speak out. When Tocqueville visited America, there was “scarcely a hamlet which has not its own newspaper.” We need to get back to that. We need to support local journalism and local voices, and each of you needs to continue the great work you are doing.

-In sum, your voices and your perspectives are essential to reversing the different trends I have discussed today. It is not too late to stem the tide, but we need to get to work.