Charles, your comments are invaluable. The voice of experience: that’s the one most worth listening to.

You mention the MSM pack mentality. Are there a few, main reasons for its existence? Journalism students are taught or conditioned to pursue certain kinds of stories? News organizations are attracted to them because they increase ad revenues? There are too few reporters on payrolls to cover every beat which the public should know about? Too little expertise among reporters to competently cover certain subjects?

Please don’t feel obliged to respond if the issue is too complicated to be addressed in this kind of space. If that’s the case, feel free to suggest helpful sources, like you did when you mentioned Dean and Mescher.