A historic
bond between Americans and the media is evaporating and there’s really no one
to blame but the media itself.
A Pew
Research Center poll released yesterday (and covered by the Axios website),
says Americans view made-up news and mis-information as a bigger problem than
other issues like terrorism, immigration, climate change and racism.
We don’t
believe journalists are verifying sources, looking for balance in their
coverage or looking for valuable information because they are jaded by their
own politics. To be specific, 68-percent of the people polled believe made-up
news and information has a big impact on their trust of other Americans and our
government.
Propaganda
is nothing new. It has been around forever----but now----with the constant news
cycle and the speed and anonymity of the internet, it has become pervasive.
Here’s the
thing….we aren’t dumb. You and I see fake news every day. More than half of the
Americans surveyed said they have changed the way they approach information
presented on the internet because of its unreliability.
Libertarian
Economist Thomas Sowell once said---“if people in the media cannot decide
whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda,
it is all the more important that the public understand that difference…and
choose their news sources accordingly.“
Agreed.
In fact, I’m
banking on it.
A 2012 Fairleigh Dickinson study showed that of those people who view only one major media outlet, those who view fox news are the least informed regarding current events. The least.
ReplyDeleteI can explain why.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see that you have a level of self-awareness about this problem.
ReplyDeleteTrust between media and the audience is a two-way street. What I mean by that is that media outlets that repeatedly lie or embellish do damage to their own reputation. As much as people might distrust the media due to their own bias, the media also has a responsibility to check its bias in favor of accurately reporting on news events. You've been called out repeatedly for your own lies in these commentaries, so what will you be doing to ensure accuracy in your future articles? I understand since it is a commentary you might editorialize, but what do you say about the blatantly false things you've passed as facts?
Do you realize, as a journalist, you are doing this every day?
ReplyDeleteI kind of threw up in my mouth a bit when I had to refer to you as a journalist, fyi