We’ve all heard time and time of the news media being blamed for the partisan division in our country. That’s been said for years now, but now that claim seems to be growing louder and louder.
Not only a few Americans believe the news media is dividing us, but nearly the majority. Back in late April, a survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, found that 75% of Americans believe the news media is responsible for the ongoing political division in our country and 45% say they have little to no confidence at all in the news reporting fairly and accurately. In addition, 40% believe the news is hurting American democracy while another 40% say the news is not impacting one way or the other. Just 20% say the news is protecting our democracy.
There’s more to this issue and more were surveyed (click on the above link to find out more), but what I am focusing today is on how some people complain the news media is dividing us, but add to the problem. Meaning, they’ll complain about the political division in this country, yet make little attempts to be diplomatic while mingling with friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and so on.
Honestly, has anyone in your development or neighborhood held a BBQ this summer welcoming everyone of all political views? Have you reached out to your relatives who follow opposing views as of late, after swearing to never speak to them again because their views make you so mad? Have you been deleting friends on Facebook or elsewhere on social media solely because they made a few comments that indicated they are “one of them” instead of trying to talk things over (NOTE: I totally get that some views are nearly impossible to talk over because of the strong emotions they bring up, or the other person is too irrational to talk to)?
Seriously, if you roll your eyes while watching the nightly news and mutter that the news dividing our country, yet you don’t do your bit, who’s really in the wrong here?
Better yet, what if you do your part in dividing our country?
Example: back in 2016, before the election, I posted something on Facebook which seemed to draw a few people I hadn’t spoken to in a long while out of the woodwork. One of them was a fellow writer I had met once or twice at a local’s writer’s group a few years ago; we kept in touch on Facebook, somewhat. But that post made him pop out of nowhere and he began to talk about how the government was out to get our guns. He also insisted that it was the news media that was tearing us apart, so I shouldn’t even listen to them (I don’t recall what I posted about back then).
I don’t remember what I said in reply, but he responded by saying that I was just another "commie liberal”. I was totally upset over that, considering he never brought up politics before ever with me, and now here he was ranting out of nowhere and insulting me. Soon after, I suggested to him that we not talk about politics again and he agreed. Sometime the following year, he deleted me from his Facebook friends.
So yeah, how can you say the news media is dividing us when you may do the same thing? How can you complain about the divisions when you’re badmouthing people who think differently than you?
Now, is the news media dividing us? To me, I think it depends on the medium itself, especially in the broadcast sense. Cable news and certain podcasts do a good job of making anyone with opposing views the enemy of our country, and therefore, convincing audiences to despise the other side. It also doesn’t help that we only have two major parties.
Newspapers and magazines may or may not, it depends on the words they use that people read rather than hear. Social media is a minefield of its own these days (Hi Twitter and Threads), not to mention really complicated.
But in the meantime, don’t be a hypocrite - really! If you feel this country is divided, build bridges, even though I’m sure that’s easier said than done. And don’t lash out at anyone after complaining about how the news does that too. A little self-awareness may go a long way.