Freedom and Responsibility of the Press
Freedom and Responsibility of the Press
(By Phil Dillard, Brian Barnard, Michele Weiner and the January Ben Franklin Dinner Discussion Group)
In the first Ben Franklin Discussion Dinner of this year, we tackled the topic of “Freedom and Responsibility of the Press. The gathering included about 20 people in the course of the night and we shared food, drink and conversation about a topic chosen from a series of options proposed to the group. This is a group of everyday people, diverse in our age (people in the room ranged from their 20s to their 50s), ethnicity, economics and politics, who care about their country and are concerned about the about the current state of our press and the the trend of consumption of media today. We’re sharing the key points made by people in the group with our friends and neighbors to encourage them to consider how these issues impact them, to facilitate a more thoughtful discussion of these topics on a day to day basis and encourage action that will improve the quality of life of all Americans as it relates to knowing the truth about our country and our world.
Capturing the current sentiment towards the Press, and more largely News Media, the group spoke to dire circumstances we find ourselves in as Americans hoping to stay informed.. We believe that the a free, and above all accurate, press is crucial for a well-functioning democratic society. The latest trends in media have provided platform for the proliferation of opinions, however the cacophony of shouting voices only seems to only drive noise and drown out valuable messages. Politicians and pundits on both sides regularly deride both the professional press and other sources of media commentary of the other side as fake or deceptive, leaving us — media consumers and citizens — confused, manipulated and overwhelmed. In an environment where facts and data don’t matter, people have trouble processing, believing or even finding time to fact check information. Needing something familiar to hold onto, people on both sides search for messages that confirm their preconceived perceptions of the world to comfort them that they are not alone in their beliefs, that they are somehow more “right” than the other side — and, most damningly — that they don’t need to consider another perspective. Hyperbole, unsubstantiated stories of what “some people say”, and “alternative facts” distort the truth and deflect from the main points intended for a productive and relevant conversation. Without a consensus of what is and is not reliably true, all context is in question. This environment has forced us to our perspective “bubbles”, ever increasing polarization, and in effect forces us to double down to our own “tribes of view” (for lack of a better term) to maintain a sense of place in the world In the social media-reality TV,-clickbait fascinated world, we knowingly tred in a downward spiral that continues, in it’s inherent nature, to be increasingly divisive and reactionary.
So what are we to do?
We’re everyday people with jobs, bills, lives, families, kids, hopes and dreams. The country continues to divide itself Left v. Right, Red v. Blue. Those on the left do not have the time, energy or resources to protest or resist everything that they disagree with (and honestly, nor should they feel that they have to). But they have little to no faith either in the Washington DC right establishment, our current administration, nor their right-leaning neighbors.. Those who lean right are faced with a surprising conundrum: in the entire run-up to the election, the establishment (and many Libertarian and Republican stalwarts), demonized the man we now call President Trump. The right won, what was to many, a surprising victory (in part thanks to a blinded and inept press and poor Democratic party competition). The Republican party has drastically bounced back from seemingly falling to pieces to being in complete control of the government almost overnight. While most conservative Americans likely appreciate the idea of being fully in control of the federal government, many also are wary of the Trump administration. This administration incites distrust of all institutions that don’t align with the desires of the executive-in-chief, providing those on the right their own limitations for finding truth and discussing divergent perspectives.
How did we get to this situation, and what can we do collectively to put ourselves on a better path?
The group found perspectives on both:.
- We got here, as we often do, because of innovation and technology. From newspapers and magazines, to radio and tv fireside chats, communication, and particularly political communication, used to be mainly a one-way street. As it often does, technology changed the game. From social media, to the proliferation of globally connected mobile devices to the 24-hour news cycle, people have more access to information, and more of it, than ever. The “democratization of information” as it was thought to be, was incredibly disruptive to traditional models for sharing information. New media gave people an outlet and opportunities for dissent and collaboration — We see it from the Arab Spring, the the ALS ice bucket challenge, to the less politically-oriented flashmobs.
- New media also gave people the ability to monetize stories, opinion and fear at a scale never before seen. Fear is perhaps the most important component of this equation because it is fear that can not only move the masses, in the case of the media, it engages the masses on a physiological level. Much of our fear in America has been manufactured and perpetuated by and for the financial benefit of the media (we’re specific here to cite media on both sides and not the press).. Yellow journalism is not new to our nation. Certain politicians whom have learned from this and are capitalizing this in a way that is reminiscent of a far darker time. Unfortunately, we as a country have completely lost perspective regarding the amount of danger we are actually in, and eagerly engage in the poorly informed bait thrown our way. This streamlines the pathway for various media outlets and politicians to sustain this pattern, this business model. We are still one of the safest, most economically stable countries in the world. Crime rates have dropped dramatically in our recent history. We have remained remarkably insulated from much of the true fear and devastation engulfing many populations, often times from wars and conflicts we ourselves perpetuate. Rather than than remaining thoughtful and resilient, forcing our press, media and leaders to communicate more responsibly, we devour their misinformation. We protest, demand action, and ultimately demand more misinformation to reinforce our stance. We do this on every side of the political spectrum. We find ourselves reacting to every loose notion thrown our way — undeniably distracting us from the actual ongoing issues affecting us every day. What’s worse is that once we do actually have a spotlight on an issue of merit, our attention spans are far too short to ever incentivise the media and the press from keeping that spotlight where it should truthfully be.
Unfortunately, traditional journalism self-corrects far too slowly and remains compromised by capitalist intervention(e.g. Rupert Murdoch buys WSJ) bred from a factory of sensationalism (e.g. the imminent, yet statistically unproven, threat of an Islamic brand of Terror on our soil) and idealism (e.g. Fox New’s perspective on “fair and balanced”). In the gap, the US Government has failed to build, support or fund “truthful”state sponsored media, like those seen at the BBC in the UK or CBS in Canada. More importantly, consumers have failed bother putting in any work themselves. They have failed to support or incentivise a more honorable institution of the press in the pursuit of fast, easy, cheap, new and relevant. What more, our actions as consumers reward the fast-and-false publishers in ad revenue and clicks, while long form reporting of integrity is overlooked for more “viral” stories. In this modern era, America has nearly forgot the value of its journalists.
Despite despair, there is a path forward. It is a path highlighted by the rise of new outlets like The Young Turks, Huffington Post, Ozy media, and some less expected players like Vice and Teen Vogue (yes, Teen Vogue.) In the attempt to move the discussion forward, liberals, conservatives and moderates (seemingly ever the unicorn these days) must learn how to master these new media in order to channel the energy around important issues of the day into constructive means of discourse. To separate the signal, from the noise. We must educate ourselves, our communities, and our children on the history and significance of the press. We must hold ourselves and one another accountable to the demonstrable truth. Over the long term, it means rethinking the way we teach our children to learn and the way we run our schools. But in the short term, we should all act immediately to be sure that people understand the significance of truth in media, and how it has lent to the predicament we are in. The hardest truth to accept is that this has happened in the past, in our human history, in our American history too, and like then we now must find a way to embrace our differences and foster a new era of cooperation. This is what we must understand to move forward.
