Media and Politics, a Concerning Trend

 

            Media and Politics, a Concerning Trend

By Evan Amelchenko

Source: Pew Research Center.

JRN-100 Staff Writer

According to a study by Pew Research Center Americans are increasingly divided in terms of trust in media, and political party membership.

 

According to a study done by the Pew Research Center done in 2021, 83% of Democrats, 76% of Independents, and 70% of Republicans trusted national news organizations in 2016. That trust dropped by 2021 with 78% of Democrats, 58% of Independents, and 35% of Republicans saying they trust national news organizations.

 The survey conducted asked 10,606 American adults a series of three questions where they had to answer if they trusted, or distrusted the national news media, local news media, and social media, and to what extent. In 2016 information for social media was gathered by looking at internet-using adults
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Compared to national news media, local media is trusted far more with 85% of Democrats saying they trusted the local news media in 2016 as compared to 84% in 2021. In 2016 82% of independents trusted local news media, with the number dropping to 75% in 2021. In 2016 79% of Republicans trusted local news media, with the number dropping to 66% in 2021. 

The survey found that people have much less trust in social media. In 2016, 36% of Democrats, 34% of Independents, and 32% of Republicans trusted social media. In 2021 the numbers were 34%, 27%, and 19% respectively.

According to Professor Robert Rodgers, a professor of political science and pre-law at Stonehill College, people listen to pundits that reinforce their beliefs and listen to views like their own. People are not getting the full story. This creates an echo chamber. People usually hear what they already agree with.

 

“You have pundits on FOX News on the right, you’ve got pundits on the left on MSNBC, they’re talking to different audiences, and people talk about echo chambers, especially with social media, that people are talking to like-minded people, and when you’re only hearing that one source of information, it gets reinforced, and the two sides get further and further apart,” said Rodgers.

 

According to Rodgers, this trend has also created a sense of hostility towards each other in politics. People refuse to listen to each other or accept each other’s views.

 

“People talk past one another, instead of building off that solid foundation, and that’s problematic for American democracy,” said Rodgers.

 

According to Rodgers, many factors have played into the decline in trust in media. Among them is the trend of increased distrust in national institutions across the board.

 

“A lot of people assume it’s across the board, this declining trust in media, because there’s been a lot of declining trust in a lot of institutions in the United States,” said Rodgers about the current state of media in the United States as well as in public institutions.

 

According to Rodgers, this trend in the Republican Party can be attributed to many things. For one, the Republican Party and affiliated media has constantly attacked mainstream media.

 

 “It’s the constant attacks, repeated constant attacks against the mainstream news media, kind of going back to Sarah Palin, when she ran for vice president with John McCaine, she took on the media, and made the media the villain. Donald Trump when he ran for president, he used the same playbook,” said Rodgers.

 

These trends have their origins in having each party lack ideological diversity and go back to the 1970s when Watergate happened, in addition to other events such as the Vietnam War. At the same time, parties have been becoming more and more rigid in their views, and distrustful of each other according to Rodgers.

“With respect to polarization, that’s been a long term trend, where you’re losing people in the middle of the parties, especially at the elected level, at the party leadership level, there are very few truly conservative democrats left at the national elected level, same with moderate republicans, so you see increased polarization at the leadership levels of the parties. At the same time you’ve been seeing this decrease in trust not only in government but other institutions, that goes back to the 1970s when Watergate, Vietnam, other instances, and people lost faith in the institutions of society,” said Rodgers.

 

Benjamin Lipman, a freshman student from Stonehill College, and a potential voter, does not believe that the media is telling the truth and believes that media is only out there to make a profit, or to spread an agenda. He believes the news media has few owners and is monopolized.

 

“I do not trust the national media, there are a lot of different news sources, there are not a lot of corporate owners behind it. You’ll find five or six different news sites, that are owned by the same company, that is influencing their message,” said Lipman.

 

Lipman said the media is there not to unite people but to divide people.

 

“Everyone has an angle, they all want to divide us,” said Lipman.

 

According to Rodgers, the United States is not in crisis just yet. However, the trends concern experts, who worry that there may be trouble in the future.

 

“We’re not in crisis mode yet, it takes faith, it takes hard work to keep American democracy robust and healthy. And if too many people get lackadaisical or if too many people get turned off, then I think we would be in trouble. We’re not there yet now, but the trend is not a promising trend,” said Rodgers.

 

American national news media is declining in trust, and is no longer seen as reliable by the Republican Party. This trend has continued since 2016 and is likely to continue for the next few years.