Pew Research Center’s recent survey of what people define as news says a lot about how we’ve become such a divisive society.
“Our surveys regularly ask Americans how closely they are following the news, where they get their news, and how much they trust the news they see,” it says. “But as people are exposed to more information from more sources than ever before and lines blur between entertainment, commentary, and other types of content, these questions are not as straightforward as they once were.”
When it started surveying people’s thoughts on news, their sources were more limited. Television, radio news and newspapers were their primary sources. What defined these sources of news was that they were channeled through gatekeepers — editors and publishers — who printed and aired stories they thought most relevant to the lives of their audience and readers.
Journalists, most of whom belonged to professional associations that demanded adherence to accuracy, fairness and ethical standards, were the providers of the stories. It wasn’t a perfect system, but there were expectations and checks on it.
But for the past two decades, there has been a dramatic change in how news is consumed and defined, and where people get it.
In our digital era, the audience is also the news provider. “Using this approach, the concept of news is not necessarily tied to professional journalism, and audiences, rather than journalists, determine what is news,” Pew says of its most recent survey.
Pew’s key findings
● “Defining news has become a personal, and personalized, experience.”
Individuals seek out news that aligns with their beliefs and areas of interest. Algorithms tracking their news habits feed them more of what they seek and want, filtering out alternative views and isolating them in their individual polarizing news realities.
● “Most people agree that information must be factual, up to date, and important to society to be considered news,” survey respondents said.
However, that news must align with their biases. Their news consumption and what they say they defines news are often in conflict. Their news habits contradict their aspirations for higher-level news.
Pew found that 55% of Americans say that it is “at least somewhat important that their news sources share their political views.”
● “Hard news stories about politics and war continue to be what people most clearly think of as news.” It does not include opinion pieces or entertainment.
While people say they know what news is and isn’t, the lines are blurred. They recognize entertainment and opinion news, but do not recognize biased news if it aligns with their opinions.
“U.S. adults are most likely to say that whether something is factual (85%) or whether it is up to date (78%) are major factors in thinking about whether it counts as news,” Pew found. Our news consumption contradictions are again highlighted by what we say defines news and where we turn to for it. Factual news doesn’t seek to align with political opinion; it’s simply news.
People look at news today from two perspectives: What is important to them as a member of society, and what is meaningful personally, Pew says.
Society news includes civic news. It’s defined as “news focused on serious or consequential topics, such as politics, economics, crime, and conflict.” Personal news is what a person feels is most relevant in their life, which often leads them to social media.
Local news most important
Pew’s study looks at news from a national perspective, not a local one.
When people say they get their news on phones, through social media, TV news, or metropolitan newspapers, we asked them to define “news.” Most people are seeking entertainment, social gossip and information about friends, as well as the latest headlines that are grabbing national or state attention.
It doesn’t include news about the actions of their local elected officials on city councils, county boards, school boards or economic development organizations.
It doesn’t include the local story, about school programs being cut due to declining enrollment or the challenges of staffing a volunteer fire department or providing child care in our communities, which are reported by the local newspaper.
“News” consumption for too many today is of a personal or entertainment nature. It leaves them ignorant of what is happening locally, an ignorance that has consequences for their quality of life, their taxes, their children’s education and their health care.
We know online news content can just as easily be disinformation as it can be an accurate news story. We know that people go online with the intention of reading news and are soon pulled away by entertainment and social media posts.
“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and commercials,” Neil Post writes in his book “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.”
He wrote his book in 1985, before the World Wide Web. It was published when we could hardly have imagined a world where tech companies had refined addictive and psychologically manipulative online technology. A new world where a couple out on a date wouldn’t be gazing into each other’s eyes, but into the screens of their phones.
Following local news is essential to civic involvement. Checking out of following your local news leads to a world and community in which we passively accept the consequences of the decisions of leaders, no matter how damaging those decisions could be to our health, safety, and financial security. We discover the consequences when they have slammed into us.
