Despite the rise of political movements such as the Tea Party and even President Trump from outside the Beltway, an “insular” and “elitist” media continues to ignore new voices, taking its cue from established sources like the Republican and Democratic parties, according to one of the nation’s top journalism schools.
“The routines and source choices of political journalists appear to favor those elite political sources … leaving a swath of viewpoints largely unconsidered,” said the a new journalism study provided to Secrets and posted below. “The result is that journalists show preferences for elite sources and the two major U.S. political parties,” it added.
Tim P. Vos, an associate professor and coordinator for Global Research Initiatives at the famed University of Missouri School of Journalism, explained that reporters have an higher view of democracy and ignore non-influential voices in favor of well-known public ones.
“Despite acknowledging a normative interest in providing diverse political viewpoints through their reporting, political journalists describe following routines and norms that make for efficient work but that divert them from this role,” said the report published in the journal Journalism Studies. It was coauthored by J. David Wolfgang, with Colorado State University’s Department of Journalism and Media Communication.
As an example, he said major political figures are preferred over “less worthy” fringe candidates, such as Green Party officials. “One national newspaper reporter sees it as going to those who have ‘legitimate power. ‘I’m not seeking out the Green Party and what their opinion is on what Obama should do in Syria,'” it said.
The result of that focus, he said, is that reporters “are going to find out what you are looking for,” not something new.
Consumer advocate Ralph Nadar, who has run for president as a third party candidate, said during the last campaign that it is hard to get the attention of the national political media if not part of the Democratic or Republican party lineups. “The mass media doesn’t give any attention to the third-party candidates,” Nader told the New York Daily News.
That can lead journalists to miss emerging movements and drive mistrust of the media. “These are not the people who are at the forefront of audience engagement,” he said. “And that makes [journalists] at the state and national level a bit insular,” said Vos.
“There is something being lost, and really good ideas can come from sometimes out-of-the-way places,” he added in an interview.
Vos interviewed state and national reporters for the study and found that they approach state politics and national politics in a similar way.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
