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Harris says we have too many pundits and too few reporters, which is entirely true. But his article still spectacularly misfires. [thread]
People who accuse the media of bias are not the reason for this. Often they do so precisely because the media has become pundit-heavy
Newsrooms have suffered huge cuts in last decade thanks to falling print sales, resultant declining ad revenue & profit-hungry proprietors
This means reporters spend less and less time speaking to people and investigating, and increasingly just re-churn agency tape and PR guff
Specialist reporter jobs have suffered especially. Fewer and fewer covering particular policy areas, crime, workplace issues, etc.
Only specialisms still valued are finance, Westminster politics and showbiz. These are all closed worlds at a huge distance from most people
There's increasingly less probing in this sort of reporting, more reliance on handouts, coverage of trivia, fetishisation of insider status
This results not just in mistrust but strong sense that so-called reporters are active players rather than probing observers.
Is it really that surprising that in light of this, people get angry when journalists say they're just asking awkward questions?
Because people feel they're *not* asking awkward questions where it matters, but using it as an excuse for lazy reporting of the powerless
And is it really that surprising that people accept this climate and want to see a bit of counter-balance?
This counter-balance comes in so-called new media that is often far more upfront about alliegances. Welcomed by many, alarming to others
But that's not the problem here. If you want mainstream journalism to re-gain respect, look at how it's being butchered by those at its top.
Don't pretend "fake news" is a new thing, look at the history of our media sucking up to power and smearing the vulnerable. And challenge it
Ideally work with others in your profession to turn the tide, but at the very least acknowledge what's going on. Because it is indeed grave.
Perhaps I should be more grateful for Harris's praise, but gratitude was never what journalism was supposed to be about. 
