Betsy Reed is the US editor of the U.K .Guardian. She happens to have a case of extreme Trump Derangement Syndrome. And she wears that bias proudly in order to fundraise from likeminded readers of the US edition of The Guardian to the extent that her bias comes off as flatly comical.
You can read Reed making her pitch at the bottom of this Sunday article about a lost tribe of indigenous people deep in the Amazon. You can see Reed begin her pitch with this title: "Why you can rely on the Guardian not to bow to Trump – or anyone."
Now pull out the popcorn and the Christmas cheer because you are about to be entertained by Reed pleading for funds as if it is the last barrier between democracy and the impending Trumpocalypse:
I hope you appreciated this article. With just days left of our crucial end-of-year fundraising appeal, I wanted to ask whether you could support the Guardian’s journalism as we prepare to cover the second Trump administration.
As Trump himself observed: “The first term, everybody was fighting me. In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”
But not the socialists at the Guardian, who shun the thought of treating Trump with anything but utter contempt. Now we come to the moral high horse section of the Reed pitch for funds:
He’s not wrong. All around us, media organizations are beginning to capitulate. First, two news outlets pulled election endorsements at the behest of their billionaire owners. Next, prominent reporters bent the knee at Mar-a-Lago. [Joe and Mika?] And now a major network – ABC News – has rolled over in response to Trump’s legal challenges and agreed to a $16m settlement in his favor.
The Guardian is clear: we have no interest in being Donald Trump’s – or any politician’s – friend. Our allegiance as independent journalists is not to those in power but to the public.
We cower in the face of your moral superiority over much of the rest of the media... as well as the rest of the universe.
How are we able to stand firm in the face of intimidation and threats? As journalists say: follow the money. The Guardian has neither a self-interested billionaire owner nor profit-seeking corporate henchmen pressuring us to appease the rich and powerful. We are funded by our readers and owned by the Scott Trust – whose only financial obligation is to preserve our journalistic mission in perpetuity.
What’s more, we make our fearless, fiercely independent journalism free to all, with no paywall – so that everyone in the US can have access to responsible, fact-based news.
"Fact-based news" as long as it reflects an extreme anti-Trump bias.
With the incoming administration boasting about its desire to punish journalists, and Trump and his allies already pursuing lawsuits against newspapers whose stories they don’t like, it has never been more urgent, or more perilous, to pursue fair, accurate reporting. Can you support the Guardian today
Send money now! The "fearless, fiercely independent" Guardian is only $10 away from saving OUR Democracy from Orange Man Bad!
