How did conservatives come to dominate so much of the media in the U.S.? Historian A.J. Bauer looks at the formative period between the advent and repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in which the right borrowed from the left to sharpen its criticism of the media — ultimately giving rise to a rightwing media ecosystem with its own commercial imperatives.
A. J. Bauer, Making the Liberal Media: How Conservatives Built a Movement Against the Press Columbia University Pres, 2026