The mainstream media is approaching a momentous fork in their road. They will try mightily to follow Yogi Berra’s timeless advice—if you come to a fork in the road, take it—but it won’t work. They’ll have to choose, and how they choose will likely set their course for the next decade, at least.

The conspiracy against Trump is heading to court. Indictments are coming, though the big names we so wish to see doing the frog march likely won’t be included. Not at first. People we’ve probably never heard of will be dragged into the harsh light of justice to face twenty-year terms behind bars. How long before one or more decide they don’t want to play scapegoat and flip for a reduced sentence? And so up the ladder.

I doubt the offers of leniency in exchange for cooperation will go further than Susan Rice or Sally Yates, both of whom have been left holding the bag, and both of whom have heavy bargaining chips to trade. Maybe James Clapper will finally crack and continue his “I was only following orders,” defense that he’s already tried out. But however it unfolds, it will be THE story.

The problem for the media: at some point they’ll have to stop accusing AG Barr of politicizing the Justice Department and report the truth about a treasonous coup attempt in which they were eager accomplices.

Or not.

If they hang tough, it will only work if there are no defections. The problem with that path is they’ve long since lost their stranglehold on what information we’re allowed to receive. They’ll try hard: Facebook, YouTube and Twitter will be paying their “fact-checkers” overtime, but the truth will seep out anyway, and what little credibility the media still claims will be tossed on the junk heap. They won’t recover.

But, if a few mea culpas come forth, an op-Ed here, an expose there, perhaps even an apology for dereliction of duty, it will shatter the media complex and transform the industry. Some might even salvage their reputations if they explore honesty and objectivity soon enough, but others will be consumed. I don’t expect a sudden embracing of the numerous small, independent sites that have been reporting the truth all along, but no question their over all status will be greatly enhanced. Some might even crawl out from under the “right-wing fringe” label for once.

And what of the rabid believers who eagerly await Rachel Maddow each night? If she’s forced to succumb to real journalism and let even a few facts out, how will her fans react? It could prove a goldmine for social scientists, about to witness the effects of cognitive dissonance an a mass scale.

The storm is coming.