If you want a free press, you have to pay for it

August 2021

Whether it’s in the classroom or over coffee, people often tell me they don’t know which media outlet to trust anymore. A founding plank of Jefferson’s republican experiment was that an educated and informed electorate provides “the consent of the governed.”

Despite an overabundance of media outlets, Americans are described as having a “superficial knowingness.” Moving through our busy lives we vacuum up tidbits of news from social networks, phones, internet, TV, radio, cable and newspapers.

I see the bad moon a-rising, I see trouble on the way (Credence Clearwater Revival)

Another key plank of America’s founding is trust. This is especially important in an era of evolving pluralism. While other nations are held together by a shared language, religion or race, lacking these universal ties, the United States is held together by a single idea: our ability to self-govern.

As is the case with many of the institutions that hold our fragile liberty together, Americans have become distrustful of the media. Gallup reports that when it comes to trusting the media, 33% report “none at all” while 27% “have not very much.” Simply, 60% of Americans don’t trust the media.

Looks like we’re in for nasty weather, I see bad times today

At the very heart of self-governance is trust, and then debate. Debate that lacks a foundation in trustworthy facts is meaningless and, ultimately, manipulative.

There’s a bad moon on the rise

Those who plant the seeds of doubt and distrust undermine the very foundation of our nation.

American society is changing before our eyes. If this makes you anxious, you’re normal. How you choose to respond, however, defines the future. If you withdraw, as many have, trust will continue to decline and society will become increasingly coarse and divided. If you engage, you can participate in discussions shaping the evolving rules and norms of an emerging society, and, according to Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, eventually obtain mutual trust.

This brings us back to the media. To my way of thinking, there are basically three types of news consumers:

Those who skim headlines or social media memes to trumpet out ill-informed opinions based on ignorance, emotion and virtue signaling.

Anxiety-driven partisans who knowingly use biased media to identify the daily threat in order to echo talking points while signaling tribal loyalty.

Those who want to be informed citizens.

In what seems like ancient history, in the spirit of good governance, political operatives once fought for the better idea. In fact, Republicans once boasted they were the party of better ideas. Then, in 2020, the GOP ran a presidential election with no platform.

I hear hurricanes a-blowing, I know the end is coming soon

Today, both political parties, at least at the federal level, seem to have forsaken good governance for the sole objective of winning elections. It is a tryst of tempests. Oh, there are some, such as the Problem Solvers Caucus members, who vie for reasonable compromise and civility. That Rep. Don Bacon is a member is to be applauded.

But let’s not be naïve; losers don’t govern, and raw political power is driven by cash. Idealists get crushed and pragmatists do whatever it takes to win.

Each year Ad Fonts Media publishes an analysis of media bias. Overall, it’s an objective, longitudinal examination of major media outlets. What they find is that publicly funded not-for-profit outlets (such as BBC, NPR and PBS) tend to be centrist, credible, unbiased and trusted. They also find that news source agencies and major networks are good outlets (AP, Reuters, CBS, NBC and ABC). But consistently, local news, such as this newspaper and local TV stations, are found to be the most trustworthy.

The study also finds that all three major cable “news” outlets (MSNBC, CNN, Fox) are heavily biased, somewhat dubious in their reporting, and, I speculate, the cause of much of today’s distrust for the media. Under pressure for advertising revenue and to fill the 24/7 cycle, cable “news” knows that anger, outrage and fearmongering increases viewers. It elevates anxiety by design.

Hope you got your things together, One eye is taken for an eye

Local entrepreneur Bruce Hoberman noted that the public is drawn to a train wreck in slow motion. We love dirty laundry. If a media outlet tells you its own anchors are untrustworthy (Lou Doubs, Tucker Carlson) or that they are entertainers rather than reporters (Rush Limbaugh), you would be wise to believe it.

Ultimately, you’re responsible.

At the heart of the First Amendment is the necessity of civil dissent. This duty of citizenship reverberates throughout our founding, including a warning in the Declaration of Independence and an overt reference to “just power.” Since few of us have the time to monitor elected officials or bureaucratic agencies, we are dependent upon the media to be our watchdog. Media outlets that knowingly deceive users by spreading distrust, reporting farcical rumors, implying innuendos or perpetuating stories of cabals and conspiracies are unworthy of our time or our respect.

In the past, those who perpetrated deliberate turmoil often acted alone or in small groups. As we saw in Charlottesville (2017) or on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., those who imbibe in the toxic elixir of deceit are now finding each other and infecting society with a poison more subtle and dangerous than any virus or partisan activist.

Intentional distrust is a terminal cancer prognosis for America’s future.

I fear rivers overflowing, I hear the voice of rage and ruin

Whether at home or in the classroom, I see America’s future being molded by young people where race, ethnicity and sexuality no longer define societal divisions. It beckons the dawn of a new day in America. Yes, there are those who want to leverage these issues to drive political wedges, but no, it is not yet a ubiquitous threat. Their train seems bound for glory. We should all hop on board.

Americans vote three ways: with our feet (attendance), with our money (spending) and in the voting booth. If you want a great America, and I hope you do, vote wisely and vote often through your actions, your judgments, with your values and in your dreams