Ihave long become accustomed to what I call the “BTMF” reflex whenever a great, newsmaking calamity or outrage happens.

That’s short for “Blame the media first.”

As a long-tenured journalist, I try not to take it personally. Yet sometimes the complainers have a point, and we in the news business would do a better job and provide better public service if we listened.

That’s why amid the anger, fear and recrimination that followed the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a couple of timely words from Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox stayed on my mind: “conflict entrepreneurs.”

“I can’t emphasize enough the damage that social media and the internet is doing to all of us, those dopamine hits,” he explained in a later interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press”

“These compani

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