Do you really want unbiased news? Do Americans in general really want “unbiased” news? Because the data says no.
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Do Americans really want unbiased news? Join us as we explore this intriguing question and discuss the current state of news media consumption. We examine the decline in newspaper and TV news audiences, the rise of niche outlets catering to specific audiences, and the challenges faced by CNN and The Messenger in their pursuit of an unbiased approach.
We also discuss the importance of media coverage, particularly with newspapers, providing a neutral perspective on news stories and the differences between television and print media. We touch on the appetite for clicks and emotion in news coverage, and take a moment to recognize Memorial Day and thank all the veterans and their families.
This stems from the Vox article, “Do Americans really want “unbiased” news?”, which was written in response to the attempt by CNN and Messenger to try to appeal to the middle and commit to “unbiased news”. But, as the article points out, there isn’t really a huge appetite for that with American audiences.
Americans simply don’t consume a lot of news, period. The audiences for news delivered by newspapers and TV sets have been in decline for years, and the drops preceded the internet era for some time, though the digital era sped up the pace.
What people do want is advocacy networks targeted towards liberals or conservatives (ie MSNBC or Fox) or even more niche outlets like the one Kristin has been reading for a decade, Jezebel.
We also discuss the fact that the claim “Americans” don’t actually think news is biased, Republicans do. Democrats, by and large, think the news they get from existing outlets is reasonably trustworthy, as this helpful YouGov poll — which replicates a similar one conducted a year ago — spells out. It’s Republicans who distrust almost all outlets that aren’t explicitly aimed at them, like NewsMax. And even the Messenger’s own poll that purports to show a hunger for unbiased news underscores this: 55 percent of Democrats think coverage of their own party is fair — but only 19 percent of Republicans said the same.
Yesterday, Wisconsin’s finest, Glenn Grothman spent time on the House floor right now complaining that Biden isn’t nominating enough straight “white guys” as judges.
You can’t make this stuff up:
Meanwhile,
We take this week’s Morning Brew quiz with questions about Boston University, Abercrombie and Fitch, Orcas, and one hell of a house.
