Media Effects I

It should come as no surprise that the current condition of public discourse, and opinion, and, how we do "public political thought", is problematic. As well as how quickly we move from popular issue to popular issue. The way the public comes to form their political opinions may not be best practice. One, for how the media forms the public opinions that are then used to make significant political decisions (elections, selecting representatives). Two, for how much power and control we are handing over to news and mass media in helping us form our public (very important) opinions. 

Shanto Iyengar and Donald R. Kinder in "News That Matters" show us just how easily influenced public opinion can be. In their study on "agenda-setting" they found that public opinion can be ranked by importance depending on what the public believes to be most relevant, or rather, what the public comes to believe is most important based on the news programming they consume. Seeing a 20% change in public opinion over national defense as a result of viewing a variety of foreboding news pieces says that it takes very little to change a mind. That can be either for the better or worse. This may not seem so bad, but consider the implications if a biased or partisan news platform decides to abuse such persuasive power to cause civil unrest. At the start of Covid-19, we saw the media inspire mass hysteria, people were ransacking grocery stores for toilet paper. This example is minor and a little funny, however, the potentiality for public ruin at the hands of sensationalized news media is very concerning. One may even be able to influence thought over a period of time as related in the longitudinal experiments from the same study. Running continual coverage of an issue area can influence the public ranking of importance over that issue, again for better or worse.  

How much can we blame the news? The news, like any other product or service, caters to its consumers. If the consumer is handing over more and more trust to the media, can we really be shocked that many come to depend almost entirely on the news to form their public opinions and that the news may take advantage of this trust?

Take also into account that modern mass media provides an abundance of choice. As a result, individuals have more freedom to choose their media preferences based on how well they align with their own biases. Selective exposure can be linked to audiences altogether avoiding media outlets that dissent from their value points. Because individuals have so much control over their news outlets, information stratamentation occurs. Where the incentive to be proactive in choosing accuracy and reliability over rhetoric and emotional affirmation is profoundly lacking. In a sense, audiences will choose news that agrees with them, and avoid that which is disagreeable, regardless of its truth. I reiterate, very concerning.

In conclusion, news outlets play a vital role in shaping public opinions, offering insights into the complexities of the world. However, this influential role comes with a caveat. Reckless reporting, driven by sensationalism or biases, has the potential to mislead the public and influence decisions adversely. The responsibility lies not only with media outlets to maintain journalistic integrity but also with the public to approach news critically, fostering a society where information is a tool for informed decision-making rather than a source of misinformation, and partisanship.