|
As a journalist, I had never lived through such a news-packed time as the past eight years. Starting with the election of Donald Trump, those years brought the Russia investigation, COVID, two impeachments, the Jan. 6 insurrection, two wars, earthshaking decisions from the Supreme Court that affected fundamental rights, and the first felony conviction in U.S. history of a former American president.
It’s no wonder I ordered a baseball cap embroidered with three initials: “TMN.” Too Much News. I wear it a lot.
Here’s the thing, though: Journalists don’t really get to beg off when “there’s too much news.” We play a crucial role in American democracy. We bring you this news, and you need it to be accurate, fair and free of bias so you can evaluate and hold accountable your public officials.
For decades, though, journalism has been losing credibility with the public. Journalists believed the loss was due to the public’s belief that journalists were biased and that their reports skewed the news in favor of one side or another through language and choice of topic.
“Only 32% of Americans report having ‘a great deal’ or ‘fair amount’ of trust in news reporting – a historical low,” writes journalism scholar Jacob Nelson. But in a study, Nelson and two colleagues discovered something unexpected: “We found that people’s distrust of journalism does not stem from fears of ideological brainwashing,” he writes. Instead, they found that the public believes the news industry “values profits above truth or public service.”
“The Americans we interviewed believe that news organizations report the news inaccurately not because they want to persuade their audiences to support specific political ideologies, candidates or causes, but rather because they simply want to generate larger audiences – and therefore larger profits.”
That’s a stunning finding – at least to this journalist.
Also in this week’s politics news:
|
