I have so many topics I want to write about now that this site is re-kindled. And while I promise there won’t be much more political talk here because I find it all so exhausting, I do have another thing to express about how it feels like politics operates today.
Here’s my summary: It’s all so dumb. Summary complete.
I just want stop there, but if I did, then it’s just a lazy social media post. So off we go…
Let’s admit one thing – media entities with the largest readership and viewership tend to lean left, some harder left than others. To find out which media companies tend to favor, there are some good sources you can look at, one of which is AllSides. This morning I did a Google search of media outlets which reach the most people in the USA and then I input those into AllSides and here’s what it came back with:
NEWSPAPERS BY CIRCULATION VOLUME
- The Wall Street Journal (leans toward center)
- The New York Times (leans left)
- USA Today (leans left)
- The Washington Post (leans left)
- Los Angeles Times (leans left)
- New York Post (leans right)
- Tampa Bay Times (leans toward center)
- Chicago Tribune (leans toward center)
MOST WATCHED TV NETWORKS
- CBS (leans left)
- NBC (leans left)
- ABC (leans left)
- Fox News (leans right)
- MSNBC (leans left)
- CNN (leans left)
We often hear the more conservative right talking about unfair treatment from the press and they kinda do have a point, given that the media companies with the most readership/viewership do tend to lean left. And the only high-circulation newspaper in the top 8 can barely be called a newspaper.
I’m not here to comment on whether or not I think that’s fair, but I do find it mighty interesting that our last election was pretty evenly split. It shows, perhaps, that those media outlets above just don’t carry the weight that they used to. Hell, that’s an easy argument to make, actually, and supports my prior notion that social media is also playing a role by sucking you into the magic algo-spiral where you only see the content from the perspective that you support (which takes you further and further down the toilet).
But it does make me wonder why 2+ years later, there’s still SO much coverage of election deniers when back in 2016…..well….I’ll be quiet and just beg you at this point to watch this video about the 2016 election:
I do realize the one big wild card here is that nobody stormed the capital on January 6th after the 2016 election, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that both parties are just full of it.
It’s fair until it’s NOT fair. It’s not deplorable until *those people* do it. Give me a break.
One more thing – I’m pretty entrenched as someone who leans left, but very close to the center. As I mentioned in my prior post and above, the whole thing just exhausts me to no end and I’ve really had enough of both parties and their constant blathering, finger-pointing and moral superiority. Take all that energy and, um, just do your job maybe?
Hey Jeff. I’m glad to see you’ve restarted this effort. Best of luck keeping it going. I’ve kicked around a similar effort in my head but never pulled the trigger. Anyway, on to the comment…
First, I am reliably left of center socially and more left-centrist fiscally. In general I seek the center (and balance) in most things as each edge is loaded with nuts but the moderates on each side (when you can find them) might have some useful insight.
Our political parties are increasingly toxic as their primary offering to people is to demonize the other side and then sell the terrified that only this party will keep your (pick one: children, values, country, democracy) safe! They feed and cater to fear which leaves them precious little else to run on. The media companies are only too happy to line up accordingly and pick up easy viewers.
As your list indicates, the Left’s supporters are spread across multiple national channels whereas the Right’s supporters are more concentrated on fewer channels. I think this has contributed to the BLUE voice becoming a cacophony of different interests while the RED voice has effectively focused on fewer issues. Both sides play up to and stage manage their audience’s expectations.
TV “news” became “entertainment” with the retirement of the Fairness Doctrine by the FTC in 1987. Each channel’s primary job is not to inform but to secure customers. Sites like AllSides are very useful in showing how that plays out but it also is limited.
First off, they only focus on political stories for their ratings, and one of their primary mechanisms for determining balance is a blind survey of people’s opinions on whether they felt a story leaned in a particular direction. These do not invalidate their determinations, but its useful to understand how they may color the results. Its a game that depends on people’s perception of where the center lies. There is no objective definition of where to draw that line.
As they take pains to state repeatedly, “everyone is biased”. This is a truth we all need to embrace. So the important thing is being as transparent about it as possible and I think they do a good job.
You’ve reflected above that the Wall Street Journal (the best paper on the list IMO) leans to the center. This is true for their news division but their editorial board clearly leans to the right. And as for cable news, its a wipeout in favor of the RED side of the ledger. Fox News had all 10 of the top rated “cable news shows” in October, according to Nielsen. So the BLUEs may have more sites that are favorable, but the REDs are getting the most passionate and committed viewers which intensifies their impact.
NOTE: Fox News is chartered as an entertainment channel and not a news channel, which has allowed them to avoiding the modestly heavier scrutiny the FTC gives news channels.
So all of this is a long-winded way of saying the topic you chose is super complicated and those of us who just want “the truth” are going to have to keep looking for it on our own. We should always question the motives of whatever information peddler we frequent. And we need to question our expectations instead of automatically gravitating towards the ones that “sound right”.
Apologies for the mega post.
Sorry. The FTC references above should be to the FCC.
Really love this perspective and response, Jeremy, thank you!