Panelists discuss media, political tenses in 2016 election

A week after the historical presidential election last week, a Washington Post reporter and Milwaukee radio host joined two UW-Madison professors Tuesday to discuss the ramifications of Donald Trump’s shocking victory.

The panel was headlined by David Weigel, a political correspondent from the Washington Post, who is also the Public Affairs Writer in Residence at UW-Madison. He was joined by Charlie Sykes, a prominent, conservative talk show host on WTMJ in Milwaukee and UW-Madison professors Mike Wagner and Kathy Cramer.

Panelists mentioned critiques about news coverage in this election cycle. Wagner said there has been a disproportionate amount of coverage and negative coverage on Trump, gaining him media attention larger than all other candidates combined. Moreover, American media is creating an "alternative reality" reinforced by polling data and their own arguments, according to Sykes.

"People now consume media to confirm their bias rather than inform themselves," Sykes said.

Sykes added that it was a huge political dilemma when Trump proposed to single out an entire religion by banning Muslims from entering the United States, but it obtained less media attention than Clinton's email scandal.

News outlets tend to ignore those scandals, Wagner said, and turn to stories more influential on public opinion. He said he believes that polling should inform organizations about public attitudes toward candidates and public issues, instead of arbitrarily prioritizing news coverage.

Cramer discussed her research, which explores how people in rural areas have been disaffected by political parties, especially the Democratic Party. Residents in rural areas and small towns feel they are ignored, disrespected and didn't get their fair share, Cramer said.

Another key topic was how sexism played a role in Clinton’s campaign. Cramer said she hoped the election, illuminating femininity but also guided by masculinity, will serve as a reminder of appropriate ways to treat women. Sykes believed Clinton's failure was due to her own flaw, but it was problematic that someone openly showing contempt toward women was still considered qualified for presidency.

The panelists ended by discussing how racial issues exhibited in this election cycle and what the tolerance for racism and xenophobia means to American society. Cramer expects the country to sincerely address the problem of racism.

Wagner addressed what he saw as an abnormal public opinion environment during the election.

“One thing that is happening in this election is normalizing behaviors that would not normalize in public conversation,” Wagner said.