How bipartisan viewpoints can increase the trust in news and government

 Rebekah Green — rg487218@ohio.edu

    As of the 2020 presidential election, the U.S. has been extremely polarized in political issues — stemming from the surge of the concept of "fake news" and political agenda that fall strongly on either side of the political spectrum. The U.S. — and journalists — face a challenging time in overcoming the distrust in government and media, as well as finding ways to advocate for common ground and trust in coverage in the political arena.

    According to the Pew Research Center, the divisions across the country have collapsed into a reality where there is "no toehold for common cause or collective national identity." Although, it is also acknowledged that prior to election results, both dominant political parties overwhelmingly believed that the elected candidate should "primarily focus on addressing the concerns of all Americans, even if it means disappointing some of his supporters."

    According to a Morning Consult poll, "More than 3 in 4 Democrats and Republicans say they 'respect politicians more when they make efforts to get bipartisan support.'" Advocating for bipartisan bills at the local and state levels could be one way for voters to understand the importance of compromise in politics and the progress that can be made while transitioning the belief more strongly in national politics, where divisiveness is extremely prevalent.

    Being able to see the benefits of having common ground could encourage opposing party voters to view the alternative side in a more humanizing way, which is essential to having compassion for one another and their viewpoints. Also, it can provide a perspective that gives them a greater understanding of the benefits that bipartisanship can have for an entire nation.

Source: Pete Marovich for The New York Times

    Although, recently on the national level, the infrastructure bill passed in the Senate, which would cost the U.S. a total of $1 trillion. President Biden was able to find an area of common ground that gained support from both Democrats and Republicans. Using a strategy of finding a less polarizing issue that is still important to the wellbeing of Americans and leveraging the most important items on the agenda, the national government was able to gain support from both political parties to pass a bill proposed by a Democratic office, which eventually led to the bill passing in the Senate.

    By American citizens seeing both political parties working together and agreeing on less controversial — yet important — topics, we can hope that it will increasingly shift the mindsets of those on each end of the political spectrum. As journalists remain loyal to their codes of ethics and stick to strictly factual ways of reporting news, a shift in trust in the media will likely follow, which will benefit Americans by knowing what the current events in the country truly mean for them.