California wildfires show blatant mainstream media failure

California wildfires show blatant mainstream media failure, says Julian Zelizer .

Zelizer: L.A. Times' recent attack on Trump was meant to divert attention from the focus from abject abject duty by Democrats .

He says the media first toe the party line and denigrate challengers to their hoaxes when the hysteria dies down, hoping nobody is paying attention.

When wildfires became an annual occurrence in 2000 , the media had a function not only to question, but to build a pressure campaign to compel authorities to act.

Perhaps citizens and celebrities could have been recruited in this campaign.

Alas, those who should have been fearless watchdogs devolved into lapdogs.