John Oliver

For those reasons, it is probably not illogical to conclude that the functions of the Fourth Estate are fading and the press cannot be fully trusted anymore. However, it is not simple as that. There are reasons behind why the press is losing their independence, their works are considered more biased, and people believe that they have become more affiliated with special interest groups. That are, dilemmas, which can be foreseen, but are actually hard to avoid.
John Oliver, Last Week Tonight’s host, in the episode “Journalism,” offered some informative insights about why corporations are taking more control of media companies, TV channels, and newspapers; and the reason why coverage on Government activities are becoming less quality. Oliver
Apparently, many readers have shifted their news reading habit onto the more convenience Internet and abandoned the traditional newspaper. However, the tragic thing is, “the media is food chain that would fall apart without local newspapers,” said Oliver. He asserted that most news coverages appear on TV and the Internet are cited from printed sources. Thus, when the traditional newspaper outlets suffer from financial downsizing and struggle, there would be downsizing in journalists who will do the actual field research and reporting. As a result, the overall quality of news got affected. Moreover, reporting on Government activities suffered as well. Oliver pointed out that “between 2003 and 2014, number of full-time State House reporter declined by 35%.” Consequently, less State House reporter means the people will be less informed about government activities. David Simon, former Baltimore Sun reporter, referred to this problem as “a great time to be a corrupt politician.” Additionally, John Oliver asserted that since people are growing accustomed to free news on the Internet, they don’t want to pay for it anymore. However, that is what killing independent press. Traditional printed