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Free Press in the Era of a Global Pandemic: Where are the facts? by Emily Dempsey

Posted on by edempsey

Over the last few decades, the evolution of technology has been a key ingredient in a more accessible and a wider range of news sources across our country. Through social media, virtual streaming, and online journalism, our country has seemingly progressed into an era of wide-spread informativeness. With Americans able to listen to the problems that face our society supported by evidence and honesty, we should be able to form our own opinions and collaborate with others to come up with the necessary solutions to make the world a better place, right?

Unfortunately, that is not the America we live in today. As the coronavirus pandemic rages on across the globe, the conflicting opinions and increased politicization of the pandemic has encouraged the American media to become an even more prominent factor contributing to the increase of ideological polarization and partisan gridlock within our country.

This issue is found across media outlets that present ideas from both sides of the political spectrum, where large media corporations seemingly create content that is based on rating driven opinions instead of facts, generating a large portion of Americans who are interpreting these politically charged viewpoints instead of fact based coverage.

Now, it seems as though this pandemic has been a catalyst in exploiting the sometimes invisible barrier between fact and fiction in American reporting.

A good example of this, is the debate surrounding the reopening of schools. With FOX News praising President Trump for trying to reopen schools and discouraging students and teachers from wearing masks, and CNN focusing on how the increase of cases in predominantly Republican states is potentially putting students and teachers at risk, the middle ground surrounding this story is exceedingly hard to find. When watching multiple segments from each source surrounding this story, it becomes easier to become confused on where the truth lies and easier for those in power to discredit the American media as well as journalists across the globe.

The bottom line is our country is in more need of the facts than ever and ultimately, the call for change within the American media has to start with recognizing that despite your beliefs aligning with a specific channel, the system needs to evolve into one that doesn’t mask verity with values.

And while inconsistencies in the American media system is not the only challenge we are facing as a nation, it could be an extremely effective solution to a lot of obstacles we face as a society within these challenging, uncertain, and unprecedented times.

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  1. With all of these bias news sources taking such radical and politicized stances on every public issue, where can we attempt to get non-partisan information from? In other words, what would the best and most effective strategy be for obtaining the truth and facts about today’s world in order so that one may form their own opinion free of bias? Are there even any places on the internet or any other public forum that even provide non-partisan news coverage anymore? Would a good strategy be to watch both sides of the spectrum (for example, FOX and CNN) in order to obtain both viewpoints to decide for yourself?

    • I have researched and found over the years the NPR is typically very non-partisan and provides a lot of opportunities for people to form their own opinions. For example, when interviewing candidates of national, state, and local elections, NPR waits until the end of the interview to reveal the party that the candidate is affiliated with, encouraging the listener to respond to the person’s ideas and personality instead of just their political party. However, since non-biased information is sometimes very difficult to find today, I usually listen to CNN, FOX, and NPR so that I can hear the different sides of the story that fall within all different areas of the political spectrum and decide for myself where I stand. I think the best option is to just read and listen to as much as you can so that you can make sure that you have all of the facts. 🙂

  2. I find it very interesting how Americans can make public safety into a political opinion. Everyone wants things to go back to normal again, and I doubt that anyone enjoys wearing masks, yet, people can still ignore facts from credited scientists such as the CDC, and even visible facts from their own state/county showing that masks are helping. It will be interesting to see how this compares to the presidential election results. Like you said, with Trump outwardly not supporting mask wearing, and Biden stating that he will mandate masks federally it seems like that enough would sway a vote. According to the CDC three in four U.S adults will voluntarily wear masks when leaving their house. I wonder if that will match to three in four adults voting for Biden over Trump.

  3. I think that during this time of covid, no one really seems to have any answers or facts because of how fast information with this virus is changing. Its easy for us to want to have cold hard answers as in how we should proceed with for example, schools openings in the fall and its hard because you’re right, we are getting polar opposite answers but I think right now its hard to expect anyone to know a definite plan. I think our leaders and officials should acknowledge that information changes quick but there should be a focus on facts instead of moral beliefs whether that comes to social distancing or wearing of masks because its only causing more harm to the American people. Great blog post!

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