When scrutinizing this issue, it becomes clear that the press is not there to make us aware of what is happening in the world. Instead, its goal is to mold our opinions into whatever benefits the elite ruling class. This paradigm explains why members of the press appear to be woefully out of touch with the viewpoints of regular folks.

RedState’s Nick Arama recently wrote a piece describing a CNN segment in which the network’s media activists exposed how little they know about the thoughts, opinions, and ideas of everyday Americans who don’t happen to live in New York and California:

They showed that again during a segment featuring John King talking with Americans in Iowa. The description from King shows just how clueless CNN is about the American people and what the support for former President Donald Trump is about.

King acknowledges the people don’t like CNN and that there’s “reverence for Ronald Reagan.” But then he paints them all as though they believe what they believe because they are somehow caught in the thrall of Trump.

Here at RedState, we have written many pieces just like this over the years. It is because members of the activist media have often had their so-called journalists take trips to flyover country in a supposed attempt to better understand the salt of the Earth types living in foreign lands known as Iowa, Montana, Kansas, and even *gasp* Texas. Even a blindfolded bat can see that these segments are nothing more than ridiculous displays that they use to deceive their audience into thinking those living in these areas are easily manipulated and ignorant about the issues of the day.

This segment is a microcosm highlighting the reason why there is such a disconnect between the press and the people.

Once upon a time, journalism was considered more of a hard-nosed blue-collar profession. Reporters were viewed more as working-class folks who covered the news and reported stories from a grassroots perspective. They were the actual champions of regular folks, willing to speak truth to power and expose their corruption. Then, academia happened. Universities began offering formal journalism education, and the elites became more represented in the industry.

Now, the field is filled with pompous and pretentious prigs who give off the veneer of fighting on behalf of the people when, in reality, they are doing nothing of the sort. Now, instead of informing the public, they seek to influence the masses on behalf of the ruling class. There is a reason why their reportage tends to skew in favor of the authoritarian elites who run our government.

Take their approach to handling the state’s effort to censor content under the guise of fighting “misinformation,” for example. Instead of exploring how the government is attacking the First Amendment, they run interference for those pressuring social media companies to silence dissenting views.

The once-vaunted Fourth Estate has been completely infested with a decidedly pervasive elitist mindset. Members of the press have adopted the view that regular folks are unable to govern themselves, which means those who are part of the ruling class should be calling the shots.

When you translate this into the world of journalism, you have people who tell themselves we are too stupid to form our own opinions on the issues of the day. Therefore, as the opinion molders of society, so-called journalists must give us the correct opinions and thoughts we are supposed to have. It is no coincidence that the narratives they want us to believe just happen to benefit those ruling at the upper echelons of society.

The advent of alternative media, which conservatives and libertarians have thrived on, has thrown a monkey wrench into the elite media’s agenda. Before, they controlled all the major news networks, which meant their gatekeepers could ensure only those willing to parrot authoritarian narratives would get any play. But with the internet, news sites have enabled other voices to subvert elitist dominance over what people see and hear. It can be no wonder that folks like CNN’s John King and Dana Bash lamented “conservative media” for causing folks to doubt what comes out of the network.

The crux of the matter is that members of the media, by and large, can never understand and represent the interests of common folks. It is not just because they are detached from reality but primarily because they care nothing for the needs of regular people. Indeed, as members of the elite ruling class, they have nothing but contempt for us. It is why they constantly seek to rule over us without our consent. This, more than any other reason, is why we should never trust the elite media.