Sensationalism, echo chambers and smokescreens define American media today.
In the so-called “Information Age,” citizens of this country are finding it harder each day to get the facts they need. Whether it involves political coverage or just day-to-day news, anchors on TV and traditional journalists representing a huge percentage of relevant newspapers seem to do everything in their power to keep the masses from getting the information which matters; it fosters frustration, which breeds apathy. 
I for one am beyond the point of annoyance at this new-age yellow journalism, especially considering I fancy myself a journalist as well. I am tired of seeing things like anthem kneeling taking up the primetime spots, instead of events actually impacting the state of the country. I am tired of seeing the folks at FOX and CNN so blatantly favor Republicans and Democrats, respectively.
To put it succinctly, it is time for a change. But, to know what to change, we must outline where we are going wrong in the first place.
Justin Schuster of The Politic explains a huge factor for the current landscape.
“As a consequence of increased competition in the digital battleground, journalism has shifted towards provocative and controversial thought pieces. In order to combat a hemorrhaging audience, mainstream media has turned towards opinion journalism as the new frontier,” Schuster explains.
So essentially, at least part of the reason why the media has become what it has is due to finances.
Think about this for a second: something as important as the news is distorted because the big wigs in charge are not getting enough money. They are selling out, point blank. I do not claim to have some master plan in place to fix this, but the news is sacred. Information is sacred. There is absolutely no excuse for this being compromised, even if it is seemingly what America at large craves. 
If being entertained with wacky “catch me outside” fiascos and other non-issues are not enough to quench your thirst, many news outlets will simply bombard and confuse you with nonstop coverage of the same story. Economic policy, foreign affairs and the more technical aspects of our domestic social policy are swept aside in favor of more, as they say, digestible pieces.
I will say this, and I am quite astonished I have to: the news is not supposed to be entertaining. The news exists for the sole purpose of relaying topical, meaningful information and whether a certain topic is digestible enough is irrelevant to its importance.
Entertainment is great, but at risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, it is turning us into a mindless populace. Some of the shadier practices employed today even border on outright propaganda.
Catherine Rampell, a columnist from the Washington Post, summed up the predicament last year.
“Welcome to 2017, the ouroboros of distractions, where every terrible thing is a head-fake for a ruse for a diversion for a misdirection from something else much, much worse,” Rampell stated.
This is not a conservative or liberal issue, and it is not a racial issue either. It exists universally, and everyone falls victim to it.
Everyone, if they care enough about accuracy, should fact-check every article they read and follow a breadcrumb trail of sources. Those same people must also face the maddening stream of obviously misleading or utterly false stories their friends and family share on social media. 
For those who do not care to give news the time of day, these shares make up their entire information diet, and I would venture to say millions of Americans live their lives in a half-fake world. The problem is not inconsequential, either.
It has the power to swing elections, create rifts between different demographics and again, breed apathy. Even if you do not share my love for journalism, it still impacts you in a huge way. For this reason, it is time for it to end. The first yellow press period did, and this iteration deserves no lesser fate.