As mentioned in my previous post, America’s democratic structure is strongest when voters are properly informed on issues the parties differ on. Voters need to properly understand the consequences of their vote to properly contribute their opinion in elections. So, for the majority of elections, where have most voters received their information from? The obvious answer is news organizations like CNN, FOX and MSNBC. While I recognize that social media has recently overtaken traditional news organizations, with 55% of American adults reporting they get their news from social media sites, it should be noted that few of these American adults trust the information they see on social media. For example, only 11% of people think news on social media is accurate or trustworthy (Market Watch). Similarly, 41% of Americans think “mass media”, or TV, print and radio, are accurate or trustworthy (Gallup Poll). Because of this, I will only be focusing on the role of mass media in politics.
There are 3 aspects of the media pertaining to politics that must be considered. Firstly, people primarily watch news organizations that cater to their ideology. This is seen in a Pew Research study that shows 49% of Fox viewers being right-leaning, and 64% of CNN being left-leaning. Secondly, news organizations are business, and thus strive to generate revenue through amassing a broad, consistent viewership. Thirdly, the media should ideally provide the public with high quality information in order for voters to create informed decisions. All three of these aspects are inherently at odds with each other, and as a result, news organizations profit from dividing voters and worsening the already rampart partisanship present in the political climate.
People will seek out news organizations to stay informed on issues and developments nationwide no matter what, but what keeps viewers returning is hearing or reading their ideology defended and expressed. This is because of the confirmation bias, or the tendency to seek out platforms that share the same ideology as the viewer. Because people will generally seek out information that appeals to them, a moderate, bipartisan news organization will not be profitable, as politics is subjective and not black and white. A bipartisan news organization risks not having a base to appeal to, as critical stories about republicans and democrats alike will turn those groups off to the organization. If a bias news organization already has a consistent base, they then must ensure that people are digesting their content. In order to do this, news organizations are incentivized to create flashy headlines and exaggerate events, thus sometimes preventing them from providing high quality information to the public. Essentially, the best way for news organizations to make profits is to cater to a certain base, and doctor stories to make them more eye catching. This positive feedback loop of polarization and misinformation is crippling Americans’ trust in established news sources.
So what can be done about this issue? Is there any real way to fix it because human beings are by nature, bias and subjective? I do not believe there is a surefire solution. One improvement I believe can help would be to set up a government news organization independent from the White House and Congress to explain issues to voters with pros and cons coming from both sides. To be clear, this is not to be like State TV in North Korea where the party controls the content. Instead, this would essentially be a bipartisan, government funded public broadcasting institution. I am aware that we already have PBS present, but just briefly browsing the PBS Politics webpage presented bias language and stories clearly meant to unfairly either praise or bash the President’s response on COVID-19. Seeing that the present state of PBS Politics was not the solution, I stand by my original proposal of creating a new organization meant solely to inform voters. I think that instead of having producers and news anchors writing and presenting scripts, legislators from both sides could come on air and hold mini debates on topics requested by citizens. I think this would be a good way to have people’s questions answered, and take as much bias out of the equation as possible. Members from the right and left would debate and allow the viewer to decide for him or herself who’s opinion they agree with the most.
Brenan, Megan. “Americans’ Trust in Mass Media Edges Down to 41%.” Gallup.com, Gallup, 30 Mar. 2020, news.gallup.com/poll/267047/americans-trust-mass-media-edges-down.aspx.
Rosentiel, Tom. “Partisanship and Cable News Audiences.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 30 Dec. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/2009/10/30/partisanship-and-cable-news-audiences/.
Associated Press. “Poll Shows a Majority of Americans Don’t Trust News on Social Media Platforms.” MarketWatch, MarketWatch, 26 Nov. 2019, www.marketwatch.com/story/poll-shows-a-majority-of-americans-dont-trust-news-on-social-media-platforms-2019-11-26.