• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 29, 2019

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wants to protect “real journalism” against growing powerful digital media companies Google and Facebook. And maybe a few other sources as well.

So is this good news for MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel, as well as ABC, CBS and NBC news divisions? Does it help print-based news organizations like The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal?

Yes, for those advertisers that support and buy that media. Still, we are not exactly sure what those added protections would entail.

At the same time, Sanders wants to curb “targeted” advertising, which is a big piece of major digital companies' -- such as Google's and Facebook’s -- revenue efforts. He will be doing that with a tax, which will go to foster local news gathering/production.

Now it gets complicated.

We all know that new digital media services aren’t the only companies pursuing “targeted” advertising. Traditional TV networks -- in trying to be competitive with digital media for ad dollars -- are also in the hunt.

Federal regulation is a tricky affair for business -- especially with media. The devil, or your favorite angel, is in the details.

All this contrasts with how President Trump currently feels -- largely when it comes to a majority of traditional news media organizations, including, in recent days, some of the reporting from Fox News Channel.

He now says he doesn’t like some of that content. That network "isn’t working for us anymore."  Hmmm. Wonder what he really means?

But maybe Trump is “working” for the media. Due to Trump’s tweeting, impromptu falsehood-laden press conferences, and live rally screeds, many news channels have drawn higher viewership and revenue across the board. In addition, there has been growing revenue for many print-based news organizations, including The New York Times.

What isn’t new in all of this is that major news cycles always rise and fall in irregular trends. What happens if or when the current high-profile news cycle goes lower --  say, a new president is elected in 2020?

Guessing there will be plenty of residual effects of a Trump Administration -- not only with a possible U.S. economic recession -- but with much news and analysis of Donald Trump returning to being a full-time private businessman.

What will “real journalism” look like if Sanders gets his wish? Hopefully, and for the most part, how it looks now.