Turning fury into profits and our democracy into a shambles.

The single most terrifying quote of this presidential election— and there were many — was not uttered by the person you might think. Les Moonves, the Chairman of CBS, said of Trump’s candidacy, “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.”

Back in 1953, Charles Wilson, President of G.M. said, “What’s good for America is good for General Motors.” Moonves’ 21st century perversion of that sentiment underscores a dynamic that I believe is literally as big a threat to our democracy as communism or terrorism ever were.

The current attacks on the media are straight out of Authoritarianism 101. And they have been surprisingly effective. These vague accusations of “They have an agenda! They are biased! They’re out to get us!” have traction because they feel true. And do you know why they feel true? Because they kind of are.

But it’s not the George Soros, liberal elite Illuminati agenda that the paranoid right fantasizes about. It’s much simpler than that. The agenda is profit.

If you’re upset because you think some media outlet is biased toward the Left or the Right, you’re missing the big picture. They all have the same bias: profits. All this noble talk about the media’s responsibility and journalists’ essential role in a Democracy is hogwash. Every system will inevitably take the shape of its incentives. And the incentives in this system are clear: Clicks. Views. Shares. Ad revenue.

And in this kind of system, the ascendance of outrage is not an accident. Because outrage is potent. Outrage, ironically, feels great. Every one of us has felt that delicious little shiver when coming across something infuriating on Facebook. “Can you believe this!?!?!”

Nuanced, thoughtful analysis of gray areas is important and difficult. But righteous indignation is profitable and easy. Whether you are CBS News, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos or Breitbart, guess which one your shareholders, bosses and bonuses will be pushing you toward?

The result is ugly and appears to be getting uglier. Entire eco-systems of rage media have developed and millions of us from all sides of the political spectrum are feasting at the trough of the particular outrages that we like best. And while their intent may be noble, with so many of the “mainstream” sources of journalism under financial stress, the temptation to add slop to the trough grows irresistible.

A combination of new media platforms, capitalism and that pesky First Amendment means that this dynamic is not going away any time soon. And I don’t think it should. Just like pornography or Nickelback — you should be allowed the guilty indulgence of a good anger binge from time to time no matter how distasteful I might personally find it.

But here’s what I ask: we need to make sure there is a vibrant, healthy alternative to the universe of outlets trying to make money by telling us about current events. While we have to acknowledge there is a huge gap between organizations like the New York Times working to win Pulitzers and the bottom feeding sites cranking out fake news clickbait, the truth is that the ultimate allegiance for both always has to be to their shareholders.

Journalism is too important to be a business. The good news is that the alternative already exists. In fact there are dozens of news outlets whose motives are not profits. And we need to expand their role in the public discourse. And by “we” I mean you and me.

You and I must give our attention and financial support to folks who aren’t trying to whip us into a frenzy for a buck — folks whose goal is simply to get it right. From small, single-topic organizations like The Marshall Project, to crowd-sourced investigative reporting like Pro-Publica to big, global institutions doing high-quality journalism like NPR.

And I don’t mean some kind of impulse reaction. You know how that works: you see something that gets you fired up so you sign an on-line petition or re-Tweet it or make a donation and then you never think of it again. That’s how Outrage Activism works. No, this needs to become a sustained part of how our society gathers, processes and distributes knowledge.

So if this has touched a nerve with you, may I suggest you put your local NPR affiliate on your car radio’s pre-sets and go to their web site and sign up for on-going monthly donations?

Find out if there is a hyper-local non-profit news outlet (many doing the kind of essential investigative reporting that is fading on the local level as newspapers decay.) Sign up for their newsletter.

Join the Sunlight Foundation. Match every political donation you make with a donation to OpenSecrets.org.

In short, let’s start thinking about journalism as a kind of essential public infrastructure that is too important to be left solely to the free market. We need to actively, constantly and deliberately support it — and consciously resist the base titillations so many are peddling to us.

Sure, we can go get ourselves a thick slice of indignation every now and then from the outrage industry, but only after we’ve made every effort to ensure that those whose motives aren’t profit have a place at the table. Because they are the ones most likely to provide us with the steady diet of objective, diverse and nuanced information that is essential to keeping a democracy healthy.

So, NAIL Communications is putting our money—or more accurately, our management—where our mouth is. Our Managing Partner, Jeremy Crisp has accepted an invitation to join the board of Rhode Island Public Radio. He will put his shoulder behind the wheel of this crucial endeavor. But whether it be in the form of money, advocacy or time, more shoulders are needed. Join us any way you can.