The surprise election of Donald Trump continues to reverberate around the world, triggering a revaluation of political, social and economic assumptions. One institution feeling the tremor is the media, including Australia's.
Even if American voters' desire to upend the economic status quo is genuine, from a news perspective Mr Trump's campaign was a brute-force assault on reality. Its success is a worrying sign for any society that values informed political debate.
There is a sense that many in the US, and even some in Australia, have been bamboozled by the campaign's post-truth rhetoric.
While it would be difficult in Australia's parliamentary system for a person with as little relevant experience as Mr Trump to become prime minister, a figure so antithetical to basic democratic values could emerge here. Rather than recognising the fourth estate's essential role in democracy, there is already a tendency by some to view the media as one more interest group to pander to, to spin or to ignore.
But that is only one aspect of the lesson of Mr Trump's election. The other is the use of trolls, bots and fake news that formed an alternative reality effectively bypassing mainstream media altogether. A growing body of digital forensics shows Mr Trump was helped by Russia.
This "game-changing" fact forever alters the media environment in democracies, including in Australia. For journalists, the issue is no longer just about access to power or the safety to report without fear of retribution. Nor is it access to facts without interference. It's also about the media's access to the public itself, as more and more people no longer look to the news as a guide for the bigger narrative about what's going on in society.
The handwringing about the proliferation of "fake news" on social media since the election obscures a deeper problem. Even if companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google better police false news and made it unprofitable to its producers, there is nothing to stop partisan ideologues from building alternative news worlds.
In this climate, there is a risk that the established media entrusted with speaking truth to power is yet another bystander in an online horde. Democracy can't function without an informed electorate.
But the surprise election of Mr Trump may bring glimmers of optimism too. The proliferation of fake news on the internet raises the value of real, vetted news.
One of the few events that slowed the momentum behind Mr Trump was when The Washington Post published the video of the then candidate expressing lewd views about women. Another was when The New York Times reported on his taxes – details of which the President-elect, mired in conflicts of interest, refuses to release.
Both cases involved the established media publishing big enough stories to stop the online stampede. In the aftermath of the US election subscriptions to large media organisations jumped, a sign there are still those who realise the value of a strong watch on power.
But if few are listening, not even a stronger media can slow the dangerous drift towards a post-fact society. How much a society values the truth will be the decisive factor. If vast numbers of citizens live in a post-truth environment, the established media will have to consider ways to penetrate the falsehoods that are widely shared online.
This will be a big change for media outlets. But for a society whose values and way of life, whether the public realises it or not, are at risk, new thinking is in order. Because ensuring the media's ability to function as a check on power, to shine light in dark places and to bring corruption and incompetence to the public's attention is more important now than ever. The presidency of Donald Trump may serve as a difficult four-year reminder.