We live in an age where we are constantly being bombarded with political media. In this past presidential election, for example, many news organizations used social media like Facebook and Twitter to connect with readers. In addition, many networks created election teams to cover political news across the country, while many cable news networks increasingly promoted their shows featuring pundits and talk show hosts giving their own take on a candidate or an issue. Thus, with a seemingly endless supply of constantly available political information, one would think we would be more informed on the issues and understand the important problems facing our politicians every day. But are we really? Sure, media is important, but more political media outlets in no way guarantees better quality.
When most voters are asked what they think is most important to them in the election, many will answer with something like the economy, healthcare or taxes. In other words, voters care about issues that are relevant and important in their daily lives. Therefore, since these issues are important to voters, it would only make sense for the media to spend most of their time covering and reporting on issues that impact these Americans, right?
Wrong. Of all the political coverage conducted by the media in the last election, more than 70 percent of the content actually reported on consisted of political strategy. Only about 9 percent of all political media coverage actually focused on domestic issues. This number was even smaller for international issues, which received about one percent of total political media coverage.
When the media does cover the issues however, it is often a watered down version of the information. This is because media is obsessed with simplifying information to fit into the increasingly diminishing attention spans of their audience. So in reality, what the reader or the viewer often ends up getting is more or a less a short overview of the problem along with talking points by some of the candidates. Thus the core details of the issue are never truly explored.
Furthermore, in recent years more and more networks have tried to use technology as a way to improve the content of their political coverage. For example, during the election coverage, NBC used an interactive Electoral College map which allowed viewers to see the breakdown and vote totals for counties within states across the country. This was informative and relevant to the election. However, more and more networks have been using technology in the wrong ways by overcomplicating simple concepts or using it to bring light to things that have little relevance to the issue at hand. For example, in analyzing the vice presidential debate, FOX News devoted a section of their air time to analyzing the body language of the candidates through the use of a facial body language reading model. Yes, I’ll admit that body language can be important, but this model was hard to understand and took away from the actual content of the debate.
The emergence of political cable news shows featuring political pundits on networks like MSNBC and FOX has also had adverse effects in regard to content the media presents. While some of these shows may focus on the issues, their perspective is often very biased and negative toward political foes. I understand these shows are meant for entertainment, yet these programs are one of the reasons why Americans are so often misinformed and polarized. Essentially, people listen to the narrow-minded perspective of either Rachel Maddow or Bill O’Reilly to tell them why their side is right. Although there may be some content to these shows, Americans who only hear one side of any issue (and no sides of other issues) are grossly misinformed.
So while it’s true that there are many media outlets, especially when it comes to politics, this does not always translate into quality content. It’s interesting that some media organizations that may not have adequate political content are still able to pull in successful ratings. If we want to see a change in the way the media reports on news, specifically in the field of politics, then it is our responsibility as readers and viewers to hold media accountable and demand that they deliver relevant, content-based information.
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