Trust in the mainstream media is currently at an all-time low and this has dangerous implications for the health of our democracy.
So where did all that trust go?
People have become politically polarized, increasingly dividing themselves into “tribes” based on political beliefs. As part of this, they tend to consume media that reinforces what they happen to believe and tune out media that runs contrary to those beliefs. Not only does contrary media get tuned out, but it also gets vilified and judged as negatively biased and not worthy of trust.
Social media and the internet has played a huge roll in misinformation and the spreading of “fake” news. Social media makes it easier for falsehoods to spread quickly far and wide. Like most things, there’s good and bad in the internet generally and social media particularly. Misinformation can be counted among the bad.
Different people have different views on different things, so when the mainstream media reports on news involving somewhat more controversial issues, it can help the political polarization to thrive. COVID vaccinations, race, guns, abortion, immigration, and climate change, all of these can be polarizing and contentious, and for a lot of people, really gets the blood boiling. And those same people may be inclined to believe that mainstream media takes sides and is used by government to trick the population into thinking a certain way.
The media industry has faced significant challenges due to declining advertising revenues and the increased reliance on online media providers. This can lead to media platforms prioritizing sensational news or “clickbait” to get the attention of the consumer. When this is done instead of balance in reporting, the media runs the risk of losing their credibility, which results in a predictable loss of trust.
People’s individual experiences with media outlets can also influence their trust in those sources. If they feel that a particular outlet has been inaccurate or has misrepresented a story in the past, they may be less likely to trust that outlet in the future. South of the border it’s Fox versus CNN, and it’s rare that a person would watch both. One is considered right-wing, the other left-wing, and never the twain shall meet.
Much of the media world is owned by large corporations, or very rich men, many of whom have political agendas that they wish to advance. One man, a billionaire from Australia named Rupert Murdoch, is the owner of Fox News in the United States as well as much of the British tabloid industry. This one man has caused an incredible amount of damage to people and democracy world-wide by leaning into sensationalism, polarization, and the loss of confidence in democratic institutions. It’s Murdoch who provides cover for the likes of Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, angry white (almost always) men whipping up the froth, turning us against one another. Breitbart News is another, owned by a different billionaire, Robert Mercer and empowering none other than the odious Steven Bannon as the front man. And Alex Jones with his InfoWars, denying school shootings even happen. It’s truly sobering to note that all the men in this paragraph have huge audiences, so obviously telling the truth and being ethical isn’t held in the same high regard as maybe it once was in the media business.
Journalism is something that’s supposed to be fair, balanced, and truthful, not chaotic, salacious, sensational, and suspect. But that’s one of the prices we pay for democracy, a freedom of speech and freedom of the press. As with everything and anything, people can take these liberties too far, and bad actors, both foreign and domestic, are more than willing to use media for propaganda purposes to further agendas.
I honestly don’t know how we ever return to a time when the broader population accepts the mainstream media as a trustworthy source of information. Whatever effort to do this will have to fly in the face of human behaviours and the willingness of some people to cause hurt to others. Nevertheless, it’s a challenge worth undertaking.
The media industry must ascribe to ethical standards and accurate, balanced reporting if it’s to function as one of the pillars of democracy and democratic accountability.
It’s been said before and I’ll say it again here. There’s nothing wrong with freedom of speech. But everything’s wrong with freedom of hate speech.
Big difference.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 