Robert J. Samuelson's Essay Picking Sides For The News

Countless people have criticized Fox News and CNN for political bias, but recently outrage to media bias has resulted in lasting negative consequences far beyond years prior. Donald Trump has convinced a significant amount of his base to distrust the mainstream media, as evidenced by a Quinnipiac poll that reveals 5 in 10 likely voters believe the media is biased against him (Harper). This number jumps to an incredible 9 in 10 with Republicans. Trump supporters have refused to view media they perceive to be biased, even going so far to chant “CNN sucks!” at a rally in Pennsylvania (“10,000 Trump Supporters”). The resentment of a few news outlets affects not only those news outlets, but how the dissenters perceive the world as a whole. When

In the study, each source was ranked based on the political leanings of its audience. As a result, it ranked sources such as Buzzfeed more liberal than average while it ranked sources such as the Rush Limbaugh Show more conservative than average. However, none of the sources earned a perfectly neutral ranking (Wormald). The correlation between news sources and their audience’s political leanings becomes interesting when compared to the type of content each news source produces. Rush Limbaugh, for example, is infamous for his conservative rhetoric, whereas Buzzfeed is known for its lighthearted quizzes and comical representation of liberal politics. This reveals something about our perception of truth: biased sources allow individuals to ‘select’ the truth. When conflicting information is pushed to the side, it becomes nonexistent. Subsequently, the sum of partial truths interpreted by an individual becomes a whole truth in their mind, especially when partial truths are reinforced by mainstream media sources such as Buzzfeed or the Rush Limbaugh Show. This is harmful because, as Lewis implied, the entire truth is lost in this process and mutual understanding becomes harder to

Objective journalism in the United States should be reconsidered to accommodate the demands of varied audiences and increased media outlets. With the media growing in magnitude and influence, many people are looking for fresh, like-minded news sources. Declines in newspaper readership and television news viewing among many Americans suggests that objectively reported news is a failing philosophy. Younger, more impressionable people may be ready for the advantages of the partisan news reporting style.

Many members of the general public have caught onto the ruse of mass media outlets, and are starting to not trust them. A Gallup poll from the somewhat recent year of late 2016 has shown that Americans’ trust in mass media has fallen to a record setting low. For the general population, only 32 percent of Americans trusted the media outlets’ reports with a “great deal of trust” or a “fair amount of trust”. A deeper look into the polling shows that only 14 percent of population who classify as Republican trust the media a great deal or a fair amount. This could be due to the bias against Republicans in certain media sources, or it could fall into something deeper. As for age groups, ages 18-49 have shown 26 percent in the same trust rating, while 50 and older shows 38 percent. The difference in percentages due to age are most likely due to the technological fluency of younger generations. Better understanding of technology can allow for a person to dig deeper into what is true or false in the media

A liberal is a person that believes that the government should provide equality for all, while a conservative is a person that believes in limited government and that the government should provide the necessary freedom for people to pursue their own goals. Over time, it has been argued, mostly by conservatives, that there is a liberal bias in the media. Liberals have combated this idea with the belief that conservative media is devoted to making efforts to invoke fear and division in the general public. Though liberals make a fine counter-argument, it is easier to observe that the media is liberal-biased. The liberal versus conservative debate can be compared to facts versus values. Another reason for bias within the media is that a significant percentage of minorities, or smaller groups within the population that are often thought to be poorer, politically identify themselves as liberals. To make these minorities feel like the government is on their side as well as everyone else’s, the media must accommodate the needs of these minorities. Because of this, the media becomes liberal-biased.

Journalists play an important part in the democratic process. Traditionally, the roles of the news media are to provide a forum for debate, represent opposing perspectives on the day’s issues and hold public officials accountable while serving their constituents. However, in recent decades, media has given way to biased forms of news— partisan media. In Matthew Levendusky’s “How Partisan Media Polarize America,” he explores if these partisan media influences viewers. The book’s second chapter, “What Do Partisan Media Actually Say?” concludes that partisan media promotes a larger agenda separately to Democrats and Republicans, attack the opposing side while denouncing compromise, and usually side with their candidate of choice during

Often times people utilize certain sources and watch certain news channels because these viewers can relate to the views on these sources. It can make one believe that his/her perspective is correct simply because that is what the new source is providing. Viewers watch news sources that share the same opinions as their own, because these viewers are just as bias as the sources; these viewers favor one side, as do the news sources. John Stossel, a Fox News reporter discusses the book “Bias” with author Bernie Goldberg, an ex CBS News reporter. John expected for ABC to read the book and disagree with Bernie on the ABC news channel (Goldberg and Stossel). However, these people were proud of not reading the book and gave it no attention. Even if one does not agree with a certain viewpoint, it is very important to hear the different perspectives because it allows the viewer to see and hear other people’s opinion. Because most news sources do not include all sides, it becomes difficult for an individual to

Robert J. Samuelson, columnist for The Washington Post, in his article “Generational warfare, anyone?”(November 29th) rallies young americans to resent their current economic situation. Samuelson supports his claim by providing empirical evidence from recent Pew Research Center explicates the rising levels of people living with their parents, then by abstracting Scott Keeters notes juxtapositioning them with our modern day situation. His attempt to assemble the youth of the american workforce by informing them of their modern day struggles. Samuelson's uses erudite diction that appeals to the Washington Post’s audience of university graduates. The friction between the boomers and our current youth has thrown our economy back into the 1930’s.

The article begins by explaining the main purpose for the research inquiry. If this recent election has proven anything, it is that there is vast wealth of election coverage. Citizens can now access political information, and news coverage from almost anywhere through a variety of mediums. This increased access has opened a new dimension. Partisan media effects have been researched in the past. However, this article points out that there is a lack of inquiry on the timing of partisan media influence during the election cycle.

In America today, most people have their own political views. Some are legitimate, and some are the cause of one main problem: media bias. Certain media outlets are promoting biased political views on television, the internet, and social media. People that watch and read these biased media sources are constantly believing more and more of the false information that they are presenting. Media bias and fake news in the United States is a major contributing factor to many citizens’ political views, especially as a result of news outlets that promote a liberal agenda.

The national media is instrumental in allowing the electorate to develop opinions about contemporary issues. The media is incredibly influential and its power can be wielded for the benefit of all, or it can become a detriment to society. Some media outlets seek to sensationalize the news, sacrificing informing voters in favor of the bottom line. It is through people and organizations who seek to provide the most accurate and impartial view of an event that popular sovereignty gains much of its power. A commitment to informing the public, even when the information conflicts with a writer’s social and political philosophy, can be a difficult one to maintain. Yet, reporters uphold it everyday. This can be seen in the news site CNN (Cable News Network), which is known for having a liberal bias. Despite said bias, it does not shy away from portraying Hillary Clinton, a democrat, as a flawed candidate in an effort to be unbiased. Such a commitment is essential to creating a political and social dialogue in our nation, and as the saying goes, “when dialogue fails, democracy fails.”

It is not a coincidence that the increased availability of news sources has been accompanied by increasing political polarization. Over time, polarization appears to have spread to the level of mass public opinion (Abramowitz & Saunders, 2006; Jacobson, 2006; Abrams, & Pope, 2005). For instance, in U.S. politics, Democrats’ and Republicans’ negative evaluations of a president of the other party have steadily intensified (Abramowitz & Saunders, 2006; Jacobson, 2006). The presidential approval data reveal a widening chasm between Republicans and Democrats; the percentage of partisans who respond at the extremes (‘‘strong approval’’ or ‘‘strong disapproval’’) has increased significantly over time. In fact, polarized assessments of U.S. presidential performance are higher today than at any other time in recent history, including the months preceding the resignation of President Nixon.

Robert J. Samuelson’s factual article, “Picking Sides for the News,” is an essay that describes the different views and opinions on American news by American citizens. Samuelson claims that most Americans see people in the news business as “sloppy, biased, and self-serving.” He states that the news industry is divided by political views; Republican and conservative, and Democratic and liberal. Based on your political standpoint, you may find different news stations more supportive than others. Samuelson shows support to his viewpoint that many news companies “make news rather than just report it.”

According to Journalism.org, 74% of Americans claim to believe that news organizations are biased. Even though the vast majority of Americans feel aware of the biases of the media, however, society continues to be conditioned by the manipulative tactics of the media. The media plays a major role in American culture but, at the same time, most Americans are unable to differentiate biased from unbiased information, which is a vital issue because it prevents people from being honest with themselves and others, and it prevents them from having control over their lives. The effect that conditioning has on society is that it inhibits one’s ability to control

American journalism has always played both sides of the fence for the American people. In regards to that, news media is always for the people, however for different reasons. One is to make money, and two is to provide the American people with the accurate information of national and international affairs. As a result, partisan news media has become realistically the only choice of news with the big five owning most of the corporations. The discussion amongst scholars is that partisan news makes for more of an engaged citizen, on the other hand it creates bias due to the lack of correlation of intertwining ideas. Taking into consideration both sides of the argument, one thing remains true that there is a correlation between the great divide and the big five partisan news medias.