By Bob Robinson
I have spent more than half a century in communication. I still remember many of the years I spent as a reporter and editor. The goal of my profession? To provide news and information to the public. It didn’t pay much, but it was a worthy concept, one in which I was proud to be a part. That was some time ago…
According to a September 2020 Gallup/Knight Foundation poll, 86 percent of Americans now believe the profession I had spent most of life in is biased. It was published by a well-known polling organization, Gallup (gallup.com), in conjunction with the Knight Foundation (knightfoundation.org), an American non-profit that says it supports, among other things, quality journalism. According to mediabiasfactcheck.com, the Knight Foundation has a left-center bias, noting it is “generally trustworthy, but may require further investigation.”
Long story short? A left-leaning organization released a poll through Gallup noting that 86 percent of Americans believe the media is biased. Is it all media? Or just the Main Stream Media (MSM), such as CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, or CNN? The poll doesn’t say.
No poll is completely trustworthy. Samples can be biased. Some can focus on the general public mood or specific geographical areas, while others may focus on registered voters, while still others may focus on Americans most likely to vote in a general election. Rasmussen Reports is one of the latter and, as such, I tend to prefer it regarding the political climate.
Rasmussen has not done a poll on media bias, but it has noted that more than half of Americans believe the media is less aggressive with President Biden than it was with President Trump.
There has been a lot in the news about Georgia ramping up its voter requirements, which partisans and the media refer to as voter “restrictions.” President Biden referred to the bill as “Jim Crow on Steroids.” There was considerable pushback on that comment (USA Today, Fox News, Yahoo News and more). The Washington Post gave him “Four Pinocchios” for the statement. The comment was pretty much ignored, by the MSM. The opportunity to vote was actually expanded, and a legitimate voter I.D. is now required. The fact that 75 percent of Americans support voter I.D. laws (Rasmussen), and most states already have them (MicroSoft News), has not been reported. The provision of food and water to those waiting in line has been misrepresented as well (The First).
The media has given considerable exposure to MLB pulling its July All-Star game from Georgia in protest. MLB has reportedly moved the annual event to Colorado, which has similar voting requirements as Georgia (Daily Wire). The Daily Signal has reported on several blue states, including New York, that have more restrictive voting requirements than Georgia. This irony is yet to be noted by the MSM.
While the MSM has been reporting on President Biden’s $2+ Trillion infrastructure “Rebuild America” plan, little, if anything, has been said about how he intends to pay for it. MicroSoft News (MSN) reports that he plans to increase corporate taxes, taxes on the wealthy, and remove tax loopholes. Nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose higher taxes (Rasmussen). This has not been noted by the MSM.
The main stream media has reported on President Biden’s and the majority party’s efforts to put more restrictions on gun ownership, yet have not noted that over three-fourths of Americans (Rasmussen) support gun rights.
The ongoing issue with the southern border also has President Biden at odds with most Americans, who regard this “challenge” (he refuses to call it a “crisis”) as a national security issue (73%, Rasmussen). While the MSM has lately started referring to the border as a crisis, they have so far not focused on the national security issues. President Biden has repeatedly blamed President Trump. Poll respondents disagree. It’s on President Biden. The MSM has not reported this.
The American people have given President Biden a “pass” on his handling of the Covid pandemic (Rasmussen, 53%). What most Americans don’t know, because the main stream media doesn’t report it, is that President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed initiated the plan to deliver 300 million doses of vaccine (The Daily Signal). This was accomplished prior to President Biden taking the Oath of Office. He has since taken full credit for the availability and delivery of the vaccines. It seems the MSM concurs, as it hasn’t taken him to task on it.
Party shenanigans are not new. Both parties do it, especially presidents. It is not unusual for the sitting president to take credit for the positive and blame the predecessor for the negative. It’s the nature of the beast.
Only oldsters like me will likely remember the presidential election fiasco of 2000. George W. Bush, Republican, and Al Gore, Democrat, were down to one state, Florida. Whoever got its 25 votes wins. This was the year that the term “pregnant chads” was coined. Photos were published of ballot counters using magnifying glasses to see if there was a slight impression in paper ballots that were not correctly “punched” (and should have been discarded). If they thought they saw an impression, they would count it as a vote. Gore, who was behind, challenged for a complete recount. The United States Supreme Court said no. At the end of the day G. W. Bush became the 43rd president of the United States. The Democrats accused the Supreme Court of stealing the election. The nature of the beast.
That was 20 years ago. This year Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States by the slimmest of margins in six battleground states (Arizona .31%, Georgia .24%, Michigan 2.78%, Pennsylvania 1.16%, Wisconsin .63%, and Nevada .2%). Half of those states were carried with less than 50 percent of the vote (The Daily Signal). The Republicans, who cited the tiny margins, plus expanded mail-in and early voting, extended ballot receipt deadlines and relaxed verification rules, said the election was “stolen.” The nature of the beast.
The difference? The role the media played.
In 2000 the media reported daily on the “pregnant chads” and the idiots with the magnifying glasses. We got the news and today’s multitude of sources were not available to contradict them. In 2020, with Social Media and alternative news sources, questions – both legitimate and not so legitimate – began to arise.
Enter another survey. This one was taken by the Media Research Center, a non-profit conservative organization whose stated goal is to “create a media culture in America where truth and liberty flourish” (mrc.org). Others have referred to it as a “propaganda machine” (Wikipedia). The MRC survey was a poll of 1,750 Democratic voters in those swing states. Respondents were asked about seven news stories that were mostly ignored by the MSM.
1. President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, with vaccines delivered prior to President Biden’s oath of office (but for which the current president has taken the credit).
2. A former aide, Tara Reade, had charged President Biden in the 1990’s with sexual assault.
3. A looming financial scandal involving President Biden and his son, Hunter.
4. President Biden’s far left ideology. His vice presidential choice, Kamala Harris, in 2019 had the most left-wing record of any senator, including Bernie Sanders.
5. President Trump’s tax cuts helped the economy’s annual growth jump of 33.1 percent, with 11,161,000 new jobs created over a five-month period.
6. President Trump’s Foreign policy. He brokered peace agreements between Israel and several Arab countries, resulting in 3 nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.
7. Finally, there was President Trump’s Energy independence policies. He opened the pipelines, offshore drilling, and more, making the U.S. a net exporter of oil in 2019 for first time since 1973.
According to the research center’s survey, more than 80 percent of Biden voters were unaware of at least one of these stories. One of six (17%) said they would not have voted for Biden if they had known. Conclusion of the Research Center? If the main stream media had done its job, and Biden loses even a small percentage of his votes, Trump easily wins his bid for re-election.
Maybe true. Maybe not. At this point it is conjecture and irrelevant. The election is over and our nation has to move on. What is not conjecture is the role the main stream media has played, and continues to play, in our nation’s politics.
We expect the two major parties – Democrats and Republicans – to have differing perspectives on what is best for our country. This concept – and it includes opinions from splinter parties such as Green, Constitution, Libertarian and more – is one of the factors that makes a Democratic Republic such as ours work. The job of the media is to be a “watchdog” on the politicians, to report accurately what the leaders of our country are saying and doing on our behalf.
Our Constitution specifies three branches of government: The Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. The media – our “watchdogs” – was designated as an unofficial branch known as the Fourth Estate. This was impressed upon me as I worked toward and received my degree in journalism in 1970. Barely into my 20’s, I was proud that my chosen profession was charged with its role in preserving the principles of “The Great (American) Experiment” (history.stackexchange.com).
Since then, two things have changed.
As a nation, we have become polarized. We are no longer willing to talk to each other and reach reasonable compromises. The majority of our population at one time could have been found somewhere between the Left (Progressive), Moderate (middle ground), or Right (Conservative). The three branches of government were usually able to work together. They worked things out. Why do I know this? The media was on top of it. They reported it.
Over time two perspectives have been added: The Far Left and the Far Right. They talk (or act). They don’t “discuss.” They don’t listen. There is no communication between them.
Second, the media is no longer a watchdog. It has become a participant. When I did a search, I could only find two references to the media and The Fourth Estate…
“Fourth Estate or fourth power refers to the press and news media both in explicit capacity of advocacy and implicit ability to frame political issues.” (Wikipedia). In other words, the media is no longer tasked with being a watchdog, but has now taken the role of advocacy and framing political issues.
Even the critically acclaimed CBS News program, “60 Minutes,” has recently been caught with its hand in the “political framing” cookie jar after editing an interview with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The edited version makes it look like the Republican governor was guilty of “pay to play” in designating a Florida supermarket chain to distribute Covid vaccines. Not only did the governor cry “foul” but so did officials from the Democratic-Led Palm Beach County that worked with him on the distribution plan (Daily Signal). To top it off, the unedited version started appearing on Yahoo News and other alternative news outlets. Oops.
The second reference, from Thoughtco.com, refers to The Fourth Estate as an Outdated Term. “Use of the term ‘fourth estate’ to describe the modern media, is somewhat outdated unless it is with irony, given the public’s mistrust of journalists and news coverage in general. Only 41% of news consumers said they trust the media in 2019,” according to the Gallup organization.
In 2019, 41% trust means that 59% did not trust the media. One year later the distrust among consumers had climbed to 86%.
The Fourth Estate was a powerful force in 1960s and 70s. It brought down a sitting president who broke the law (Richard Nixon), and covered the assassination of a president and two national political figures. It reported in-depth on the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the war in Vietnam, and more. There are two sides – often more – to every issue. Whether we liked it or not, the media could generally be relied upon to provide those sides.
Today, the main stream media chooses the news to fit its political agenda, as well as the parts of it that it considers pertinent. As a result, dozens of alternative news sites have popped up to counter the MSM. They also choose the news to fit their agendas, and the parts of it that they consider pertinent. Balanced, complete news is now difficult, if not impossible, to find.
The Fourth Estate was an American icon, and we were informed. Today the Fourth Estate no longer exists. The losers? The American people.
Bob Robinson
Sources Used in This Commentary:
Factors in 2020 Election. Multiple Sources: Daily Signal (dailysignal.com), Yahoo (yahoo.com), The Hill (thehill.com) & More…
Expanded mail-in voting
Expanded early voting
Extended ballot receipt deadlines
Verification rules relaxed
Multiple sources: Daily Signal (dailysignal.com), Fox News (foxnews.com), NPR (npr.org), New York Post (nypost.com) & More…
Arizona – President Biden wins by .31% with 49.4% (11,000 votes)
Georgia – …by .24% with 49.5% (12,000 votes)
Michigan – …by 2.78% with 50.6%
Pennsylvania – …by 1.16% with 50%
Wisconsin – …by .63% with 49.5%
Nevada (not a swing state) – …by .2% with 50%
Rasmussen Reports (www.rasmussenreports.com): 75% support voter I.D.s; 66% don’t want higher taxes; 76% of voters support gun rights; 73% view border problem as national security issue, blame Biden; 58% say masks should be worn until all are vaccinated; 53% approve Biden handling of covid
What voters didn’t know: knightfoundation.org, www.lucianne.com, www.cnsnews.com, www.dailysignal.com, www.thefederalist.com; www.thegatewaypundit.com & more.
Additional sources: www.gallup.com, www.mrc.org, cbs.com, abc.go.com, nbc.com, msnbc.com, cnn.com, msn.com.