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From: Emma Lovén Svensson
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WASHINGTON DC. During the Trump presidency, the giants of the American media have become ideologically estranged.
Today there is a news war in which the division in information is obvious, a news war that can have consequences.
– Polarization in the media may have led to polarization in America today, says Gregory Martin, a political economy researcher at Stanford University.
In the United States, news is broadcast on cable channels 24 hours a day, year-round. The news machine grinds to the spirit of breaking news and on election night, nearly nine out of ten Americans will sit in front of the television.
The giants in this context are left-wing CNN, liberal MSNBC, and conservative Fox News. The channels have their own heavy profiles, like Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, Sean Hannity on Fox News, and Chris Cuomo on CNN.
Photo: AP
Chris Cuomo, Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity.
Below prime timeIn other words, the airtime with the most viewers, these profiles function as both presenters and commentators and have great control over the content. As a Swedish viewer, the approach with this type of host may seem strange and even in the United States, the phenomenon is relatively new.
“Today’s news anchors are more thoughtful, allowed to have clearer opinions than before,” said Patrick Butler, vice president of content for the International Center for Journalists in Washington.
Gregory Martin of Stanford University in California has investigated bias in American television news. He believes that none of the channels is more “true” than the others.
– All three channels have real journalists, but they often do a mix of reporting and commentary, he says. One channel is not truer than another, it is about what they choose to focus on.
Photo: Emma Lovén Svensson
Patrick Butler, vice president of content for the International Center for Journalists in Washington.
Greater bias under Trump
Since Donald Trump became president of the United States in 2016, criticism of the media and accusations of “fake news” have gained momentum in the American debate. Much to the president’s public criticism of news channels and individual reporters. Gregory Martin believes this has increased the differences between the channels.
– Trump’s attacks on CNN have made them more biased, today they can be more directly linked to the democratic opposition to Trump. At the same time, Fox News has moved to the right.
According to the site Adweek, which tracks the number of viewers, interest in news television has increased during Donald Trump’s time in the White House. Fox News today has about 5 million viewers in prime time, four years ago the number of viewers was approximately 2.7 million.
Fox viewers stand out
Democrats and Republicans have moved in two almost opposite news universes during the 2020 election campaign, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
Patrick Butler confirms what the study shows and says that sometimes it feels like you’re not in the same country when you switch from one channel to another.
– It’s not just that they don’t report the news the same way, they don’t even report the same news, he says and takes as an example the news of the leaked emails from Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
However, according to the Pew Research Center study, there is a difference in viewing behavior between conservative and liberal Americans. Those who sympathize with the Democrats are more likely to follow more news sources than one, and generally have more confidence in the media. Conservative viewers who follow Fox News more frequently follow fewer news sources and are generally more skeptical of the media.
– Conservative viewers generally only watch Fox, or choose the medium to the right of Fox, says Patrick Butler.
Photo: Stanford University
Gregory Martin, a political science researcher at Stanford University.
Channel position and presidential election
According to research by Gregory Martin and his colleague Ali Yurukoglu, Americans also choose different channels based on where they live and what number a particular channel gets based on local agreements. He believes it can affect the way people choose to vote.
– This is about where Fox gets on your cable system, maybe channel 10 or channel 20, it varies across America. Our study shows that where Fox has received a low number, more people are voting Republican.
Gregory Martin points out that those who are most likely to be affected by the position of the channel are mainly people who do not usually consume as much news. They are also less likely to see reporting biases, he says.
At the same time, Martin believes that the media has contributed to the current ideological struggle in America.
– The channels have become more polarized in the last decades, it definitely is if we look at what they show. Polarized content can lead to more purely political polarization and that could be one reason for the greater ideological polarization we see today.
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