As we have learned throughout this course and our lives, there are many different forms of news outlets: radio, television, social media, news papers, ect.. Most of us trust a news source for some reason or another; but it is the authors responsibility to be honest and gain the trust of the reader.
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of tension in media with news sources reporting on the same topics but the stories are drastically different. A lot of this comes down the region that is reporting and what the major demographic is. This can also be seen in the same source, just released in a different area, as referenced in the picture below. This shows the same picture with very different headlines: "Trump softens his tone" and Trump talks tough on wall". The only difference between these articles are the areas they were released in.
The readings this week discussed how trust impacts the reader and how journalists can improve trust. A large part of that is to take responsibility for the distrust that readers have with media. There have been missteps in the ethics of journalism with terms like 'fake news' and by pitting us against each other based on our views or opinions. Media is supposed to be unbiased. They are hear to tell us the story and leave the interpretation up to the people. Unfortunately, journalists opinions bleed through and impact how the story is told.
I find it very interesting to see how many different ways something can be interpreted that seems straight forward. Journalism has become more about profit than sharing the news. They talk about what will make the most money.
The video above was interesting, it was about CNN paying Fox viewers to watch CNN for awhile and they wanted to see if they changed their minds on certain subjects. They found that the change of news source changed their opinions. Even vice versa, when CNN viewers were exposed to Fox news, they also changed their opinions. Not everyone looks for more information than what the news tells you, they watch what they think they agree with most. It is not a 180 shift to the other side, it is just sharing something that the other news source does not. This shows that watching multiple different sources benefits the people and gives them a better understanding of the world around them.
Gabriel,
ReplyDeleteThose links are incredibly interesting. The newspaper picture in particular blows my mind. While the effect you describe is obvious on constant display nationally (via Fox, CNN, etc.), I have witnessed it at the local level as well. Up here, in the Cleveland area, the local news largly caters to a 'blue' audience, but I recently spent time in a more rural section of the state, and was stunned to see the change in tone on the local news broadcast, especially regarding national issues such as the Biden administration or the war in Ukraine.
Good stuff!