We all get older. Even if we’re in good health, there comes a time to slow down and let others do the heavy lifting. Rupert Murdock is stepping down as chairman of his two companies. Great success came to him over his 92 years. Generally, achievement leads to plaudits at retirement, not for Murdock.

Rather than praising the longtime newsman, my morning paper, published by USA Today owner Gannett and the New York Times and Washington Post morning newsletters, depicted him as the destroyer of trustworthy journalism.

The Arizona Republic’s Media writer, Bill Goodykoontz, echoed a big part of the legacy media, saying, “Murdoch and his cronies have done incalculable damage to trust in the news. There are large groups of people who now believe a story only if they see it on Fox News. That’s where they can turn for a consistent stream of outrage. Because that’s what Murdoch and Fox News really specialize in — not reporting on stories so much as doubling down on the fear and anger that stroke Trump’s base.”

Murdock’s crown jewel, Fox News, filled a void in news and commentary from a more conservative point of view. It must have been an undeserved market because it became the most popular news channel. 

While Goodykoontz and other media critics, such as Washington Post’s Eric Wemple, decry Fox News for demolishing trust in the news, the channel’s news anchor Brett Beir, this week interviewed Saudia Arabia’s de facto leader and the Israeli Premier, as those nations are on the verge on a cementing a historic relationship. Obviously, some world leaders find Fox journalists trustworthy.

On the other hand, the news outlets that suppressed the Hunter Biden Laptop story promoted the Russian Collusion and trashed those who turned out to be right on COVID policy, earning the public’s scorn they enjoy.