Three years ago, I purchased a subscription to National Geographic, thus becoming a member of National Geographic Society. My first issue was the photography issue from that year, with the cover being the famously haunting yet beautiful “Afghan Girl.” I had always found myself entranced by the stunning photography on its covers, but furthermore, the publication has pioneered thorough, captivating data infographics.

On Sept. 9, National Geographic announced a new merger with 21st Century Fox, a Rupert Murdoch-headed corporation, for the publication’s media assets for approximately $725 million, thus ruling a death sentence for its future brand integrity. The Washington Post reported that (understandably) anonymous writers in Washington could sum up their emotions from the deal in one word: “dread.”

Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox now owns 73 percent of the National Geographic Society but will operate under the moniker National Geographic Partners. The remaining 27 percent is left as the National Geographic Society, receiving a hefty $1 billion endowment from Murdoch and company as a result, according the National Geographic’s press release.

A careful distinction must be made here.

One of the first things that came to my concern, which may also be representative of the writers’: Murdoch is a notorious “climate change” (to use his own Fox News diction) denier. The conservative media outlet (and many Murdoch subsidiaries) is known for its spin, thus falsification, on news, prompting corrections and apologies on a weekly basis. My biggest fear now is National Geographic becoming a tabloid, but in reality, it will more likely become a mixture of sensationalized pseudo-information alongside clickbait.

“I don’t think there’s any question about it,” said Robert Poole, an executive editor for 21 years at the magazine, in an interview with Slate, regarding imminent decline in brand quality. To compound the issue, if writers have already quasi-spoken out against the new ownership, expect overhaul — hence, a new team of writers, likely molded for Murdoch.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t dream of writing for National Geographic. Once I entered my upper-level anthropology courses, I quickly learned that bashing the magazine (especially its television network— which I don’t blame) was the current popular trend in academic circles. That always seemed strange to me, though, seeing as its writing staff is nearly fully made up of at least master’s graduates in their respective fields.

Perhaps it has seen as selling out in the academic realm. However, the society offers dozens of research grants as well as funding expeditions, such as the very recent discovery of a new hominin ancestor, Homo naledi (thanks to the publication’s nearly synonymous reputation with archaeology).

The real sellout in this merger, though, is how this further consolidates media’s financial backing, siphoning money toward smaller and smaller circles of corporations but also obscuring the distinctions between money, political agenda, and journalism.

Because of the new Partners, I will admittedly decline to renew my subscription to the National Geographic magazine. As a firm believer in the advancement of science, which helps generate awareness for impending issues, such as environmental degradation, I cannot see myself funneling money into a company that presents tabloid-like news.

Without research teams, which cannot feasibly operate without scientific grants and endowments, policies such as President Obama’s new Environmental Protection Agency outline to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 32 percent in 2030 from the 2005 levels (to combat, say, “climate change”) are more likely to fail. Despite receiving the significant increase to the Society’s pockets, by way of Murdoch, I cannot foresee a means for conservative agenda not to become latent within the new reciprocation, embedded in stipulations for ways grant money is distributed further in the future.

As a result, I cannot subscribe to cognitive dissonance. It’s more than a damn shame to see a 127-year old, prestigious publication corrupted by the likes and stranglehold of corporate incentive.