American journalism is losing its objectivity.
That’s according to a new analysis on news discourse by the RAND Corporation. In the study released Wednesday, researchers found a major shift occurred between 1989 and 2017 as journalism expanded beyond traditional media, such as newspapers and broadcast networks, to newer media, including 24-hour cable channels and digital outlets. “Notably, these measurable changes vary in extent and nature for different news platforms,” it found.
“Our research provides quantitative evidence for what we all can see in the media landscape,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior political scientist and lead author of the report, the second in a series on the phenomenon of “Truth Decay,” the declining role of facts and analysis in civil discourse and its effect on American life. “Journalism in the U.S. has become more subjective and consists less of the detailed event- or context-based reporting that used to characterize news coverage.”
‘Journalism in the U.S. has become more subjective and consists less of the detailed event- or context-based reporting that used to characterize news coverage.’ —RAND Corporation study on ‘Truth Decay’
The analysis — carried out by a RAND text analytics tool previously used to scan for support and opposition to Islamic terrorists on social media — scanned millions of lines of text in print, broadcast and online journalism from 1989 (the first year such data was available via Lexis Nexis) to 2017 to identify usage patterns in words and phrases. Researchers were then able to measure these changes and compare them across all digital, media and print platforms.
Researchers analyzed content from 15 outlets representing print, television and digital journalism. They comprised The New York Times, Washington Post and St. Louis Post-Dispatch, CBS, CMCSA, +1.49% ABC DIS, +1.42% CNN T, +2.03% Fox News, MSNBC, Politico, The Blaze, Breitbart News Network, Buzzfeed Politics, The Daily Caller and The Huffington Post. They found a “gradual and subtle shift” between old and new media toward a more subjective form of journalism.
Before 2000, broadcast news segments were more likely to include relatively complex academic and precise language, as well as complex reasoning, the researchers said. After 2000, however, broadcast news became more focused on-air personalities and talking heads debated the news. (The year 2000 is significant as ratings of all three major cable networks in the U.S. began to increase dramatically.)
After 2000, broadcast news became more focused on-air personalities and talking heads debated the news. Traditional newspaper made the least dramatic shift over time.
Traditional newspaper made the least dramatic shift over time, the study added. “Our analysis illustrates that news sources are not interchangeable, but each provides mostly unique content, even when reporting on related issues,’’ said Bill Marcellino, a behaviorial and social scientist and co-author of the report. “Given our findings that different types of media present news in different ways, it makes sense that people turn to multiple platforms.”
It’s not the only report to find a shift toward opinion and subjectivity in news. “Tumultuous news cycles have made an impact on global opinions regarding media,” according to the “2019 Best Countries U.S. News & World Report” released earlier this year. Some 63% of people agree that there are no more objective news sources they can trust, and 66% say internet news and content is dividing people rather than uniting them. What’s more, more than 50% agree that political and social issues around the world have gotten worse over the past year.
Some 63% of people agree that there are no more objective news sources, and 66% say internet news and content is dividing people rather than uniting them.
That survey drew on answers from 20,301 people around the world. Individuals from 36 countries in four regions — the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East and Africa — were surveyed: 11,238 were “informed elites” (college-educated people who consider themselves middle class) and 5,963 were “business decision-makers” (senior leaders in an organization or small business owners). The rest were defined as adults over 18 years of age.
Some 77% of respondents said their internet privacy is at risk. However, slightly more than half of respondents trust private companies to keep their personal data safe, and 58% trust private companies more than the government. But 80% of those surveyed by the U.S. News & World Report said CEOs and business leaders need to be vocal about their views on societal issues.
Don’t miss: Political-communication scholar has a catchy new name for fake news: V.D.
In the U.S., President Trump has labeled media outlets that have reported critically on his administration as “fake news,” but he has also described CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS CBS, +0.93% and the New York Times NYT, +1.84% as “the enemy of the American people.”n one tweet TWTR, +0.93% sent to defend Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, the president wrote: “Most will never cover us fairly & hence, the term, Fake News!”
Most Facebook users did not share fake news during the presidential campaign, but those who did were mostly Republicans over the age of 65.
The good news: Most Facebook FB, -0.45% users did not share any fake news articles during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, according to a study released earlier this year. The small number who did were mostly Republican Americans over the age of 65. The findings suggest the need for “renewed attention” to educate “particular vulnerable individuals” about misleading information, the authors said.
So why are Republican baby boomers more likely to share fake news on Facebook? One theory: As they didn’t grow up with technology, they may be more susceptible to being fooled. (Case in point: the variety of scams that have had success with older Americans by preying on their lack of familiarity with how computers and technology work.)
In 2018, patent attorney Vanessa Otero released a chart on the most trusted news sources and how biased they were. AP and Reuters TRI, +1.18% came out on top. “I think the extremes are very toxic and damaging to the country,” she told MarketWatch. “These extreme sources play on people’s worst instincts, like fear and tribalism, and take advantage of people’s confirmation biases.”
Here’s that chart:
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