Blurring Lines

Blurring Lines

 Recently in our journalism class, we have been discussing binary models, ways to classify different forms of mass communication. What I found interesting was in the binary model classifying these methods as elitist or populist. This separates the types of communication into those that give the people what they need, that often being information, and what the people want, usually entertainment based. In class we talked about how sometimes that distinction can be fuzzy, for example Sesame Street being a show that entertains but simultaneously provides children with beneficial lessons. This made me think about an entirely different way that the line between elitist and populist communication has been blurred within the journalistic field, and that is cable news.

Whenever I turn on my T.V. in a vain attempt to figure out what happened over the course of the day, locally, nationally or across the world, I find that there seem to be no real sources that provide objective and unbiased stories. Obviously, the two most famous culprits of only airing stories that support a pre-determined view point are MSNBC and FOX. Both draw sharp and often deserved criticism and both serve as echo chambers that "inform" those with worldviews aligning with their own. They also seem to defy the binary model between elitist and populist entertainment because they brand themselves as news organizations that provide viewers with information, but must entertain to maintain viewership and profits. The cable news channels achieve this sustainment of viewership with a twenty-four hour news blitz with headlines that inexplicably always come along with the label of breaking news. They have so-called expert panels that yell at each other to entertain and commentators and hosts hired specifically to pander to those with already extremist viewpoints. FOX, MSNBC, their affiliates and other news groups treat politics like sports, like a zero-sum game. Local news stations break many of the seven yardsticks of journalism by airing gruesome, shocking or otherwise eye-catching stories that are more often than not completely irrelevant, their motivations are certainly not those of elitist communication outlets.

This brings us back to the binary model this post was inspired by, elitist versus populist. With cable news, the distinction between the two is increasingly blurred, and that is a problem. When a very significant chunk of the American populous has one of these news organizations that have a loyalty to money over truth and the people, where does that lead us? How can we be expected to have civil debate when we can't agree on objective truths? If the line between entertainment and news, between elitist and populist communication, is blurred beyond recognition, how is a democracy supposed to function? Can we together start to clarify the line? I can't answer these questions. Neither can you. These questions must be answered by all of us.