Because news gathering is expensive, over time the mainstream media has found ways to share content and to distribute the cost of journalism over a wider set of customers. Radio and television stations formed networks to share content. Print media formed organizations like United Press International and the Associated Press to share coverage and photos. Some newspapers share printing operations, and other media organizations such as Copley and Gannett have purchased a large number of newspapers resulting in shared administrative costs. Although media started with a large number of competing news outlets operated locally, over time, media ownership and control has become more centralized in large organizations. The increasingly [[liberal]] media organs censor the dissemination of honest news and repeatedly apply liberal [[double standard]]s.
The common denominator of the "mainstream media" is their [[censorship|censoring]] or downplaying stories that would lead viewers to [[conservative]] conclusions, and their use of [[photo bias]], [[placement bias]] and other forms of deception to mislead viewers into drawing incorrect [[liberal]] conclusions. The term '''mainstream media''' usually refers to how the majority of commercial-based or taxpayer-funded news reporting and commentary consist of [[liberal media|liberal bias]], while falsely pretending to be objective providers of information. In addition to promoting forms of censorship, the mainstream media has increasingly promoted or condoned (or in some cases, even ignored or denied) the violence of the [[Antifa]] and other left-wingers.<ref>Nolte, John (September 1, 2017). [http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/09/01/as-its-influence-wanes-increasingly-militant-msm-promotes-violence-and-censorship/ As Its Influence Wanes, Increasingly Militant MSM Promotes Violence and Censorship]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved September 2, 2017.</ref>
{{cquote|''They [the media] are not becoming irrelevant, but they are getting to the point where they are worse than irrelevant,” and “They’re the scourge of the American people.''|||[[Andrew Breitbart]]<ref>[http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75274 Tea Party Must Stand Up to Liberal Smear Tactics, Conservative Activist Says, CNSNews, September 14, 2010]</ref>}}
*Without any evidence of church attendance or Bible-reading by the [[Anders Behring Breivik|defendant]] accused of murdering 92 people in Norway, the headline of the leading Australian newspaper declared, "Norway suspect 'fundamentalist Christian.'"<ref>[http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/norway-suspect-fundamentalist-christian-20110724-1huqg.html Norway suspect 'fundamentalist Christian']</ref> The headline appears to be based in part on a [[Facebook]] page that was likely not even authentic.
It is clear that the mainstream media is extremely biased towards the left-wing, and this was the case since at least the 1960s, with a strong leftist monopoly on the news which promotes false conclusions.<ref name="NationalReview">Hanson, Victor Davis (December 22, 2016). [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443263/ The Trump Nail in the Media Coffin]. ''National Review''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref> The [[2016 U.S. presidential election|2016 election]] of Republican businessman [[Donald Trump]] prominently displayed the blatant leftist bias of the media.<ref name="NationalReview"/><ref>Brown, Michael (October 19, 2016). [http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2016/10/19/the-undeniable-glaring-bias-of-the-mainstream-media-n2234678 The Undeniable, Glaring Bias of the Mainstream Media]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref><ref>Riddell, Kelly (November 8, 2016). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/8/mainstream-media-maligned-10-examples-blatant-bias/ Mainstream Media Maligned: 10 Examples of Blatant Bias]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref><ref>Goodwin, Michael (November 14, 2016). [http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/11/14/trumps-victory-is-about-change-and-our-biased-mainstream-media-must-change-too.html Trump's victory is about change. And our biased mainstream media must change, too]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref> Trump found a way to get his message out to the public without needing to go through the lens of the leftist media, and some liberals suggested ways in how to force Trump to have to deal with the corrupt media.<ref>[https://www.rt.com/usa/372026-donald-trump-twitter-cnn/ MSM shouldn’t cover Trump's tweets, forcing him to rely on media to communicate – CNN anchor]. ''RT''. December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2016.</ref> When President Trump accused the Obama administration of surveilling him, the leftist media hideously mocked him as "paranoid", "delusional", and "demented". One year later when the ''New York Times'' admitted the facts based on leaks from [[Obama administration]] holdovers in the [[Justice Department]], no apologies or retractions were forthcoming, effectively refusing to admit that Trump was right.
== Fairness Doctrine ==
With the revocation of the Fairness Doctrine, [[radio]] and [[television]] stations were now permitted to air any opinion or interpretation of the news, no matter how "controversial," without regard to the giving of "equal time."
On In the wake of the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, on August 1, 1988, a new radio commentator named [[Rush Limbaugh]] began [[broadcast]]ing in national [[syndication]].
== List of mainstream media organs ==
* [[Fox News]] (see below).
Some media consumers do not consider [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] to be part of the "mainstream media" as Fox News frequently presents viewpoints that do not fall in line with other mainstream outlets. For example, in 2007, the [[Democratic Democrat Party|DemocraticDemocrat]] [[2008 Presidential Election#Declared Democratic Party Candidates|presidential candidates]] declared that they would not appear in debates hosted by Fox News, but they did appear on other MSM news outlets.
However, ratings indicate that because of its massive popularity, Fox News could be considered to be part of the mainstream media by definition. According to ratings organization [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen]]:
=='Alternative Media'==
Differing opinions also exist over the definition of a similar term - '''Alternative Media'''. Although some consider, for example, [[Rush Limbaugh]]'s launch to be the birth of '"alternative media'", so too do the Left consider publications like [[The Nation]] to be '"alternative media".'<ref>Albert, Michael. "[http://www.zmag.org/whatmakesalti.htm Alternative Media: What Makes Alternative Media Alternative?]" ''[http://www.zmag.org/ Z]'' Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2007.</ref> In fact, many would view the [[Village Voice]] group to be the most widely published '"alternative media' " outlet in the United States.
By whatever definition, most media watchers would classify as "alternative media" any media organ that is primarily hosted on the [[Internet]] rather than printed and delivered or mailed to subscribers. The alternative media ''is not'' exclusively conservative. It includes [[liberal]] organs as well. Some writers on these organs have suggested that the mainstream media has a ''conservative'' bias—by which they actually mean that mainstream-media organs are not as revolutionary, or as radical, in their thinking as are the writers themselves.<ref>[[Peter Dreier|Dreier, Peter]]. "[http://alternet.org/workplace/58108/ For a Brief Moment, The Media Rediscover Poverty]." [http://alternet.org AlterNet.org], July 26, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2007.</ref><ref>[[Rory O'Connor|O'Connor, Rory]]. "[http://alternet.org/mediaculture/55915/ The Future of Citizen Journalism]. [http://alternet.org AlterNet.org], July 3, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2007.</ref><ref>[[Sheldon Rampton|Rampton, Sheldon]]. "[http://alternet.org/story/54339/ Has the Internet Changed the Propaganda Model?]" [http://alternet.org AlterNet.org], June 22, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2007.</ref>