A persistent theme has emerged out of the state tax debate: lack of trust. The anti-tax side often accuses state government of being untrustworthy. This movement also seems to suspect most of the news media, arguing that The Tennessean, for example, has chronicled the debate in a biased fashion as it editorializes for tax reform.
Such mistrust in the media is nothing new, but it seems to be gaining steam. There seem to be several factors at work. One is the misinformation seen coming from traditional media. The theory is simple: “If they can’t even spell correctly, how can we believe the content?” Another factor is the alternative media. Log on to some Web sites, listen to some talk radio shows. What you read or hear there is vastly different from what you see on WTVF-Channel 5 or in The Tennessean. If we already know that the mainstream press is full of errors, the theory continues, then maybe this different information on these Web sites and radio shows is correct.
The final factor is more complex. It has to do with changing social and political patterns—namely increasing numbers of people who label themselves “conservative” based on some deep-seated dissatisfaction with their lives or their nation. The tendency is to blame the government—“I pay too much tax!” The mainstream media is often seen as “liberal” for editorial advocacy of spending money or using government to help solve problems. In other words, the new conservatives see the viewpoints of mainstream media as contrary to their belief system.
But is the liberal media theory really true? And if the media, especially the print media, lean to the left, why? Isn’t it odd that huge conglomerates would espouse liberal political views?
Arguing that The Tennessean has a liberal editorial stance is like saying Bill Clinton is a left-wing radical. It’s simply untrue. Compared to the usual liberal media suspects, The Tennessean is distinctly middle of the road. It advocates traditional democratic political views more often than not, but it is not a particularly liberal paper. The editorial positions of The Tennessean tend to mirror national polling data on similar issues, which means that the majority of Americans agree with the paper most of the time. That puts Nashville’s daily, by definition, in the mainstream.
Beyond all that, the average media consumer isn’t privy to the way newspapers bend over backwards to isolate editorial opinions from news coverage. Most of the time, it works. Given that people create content, no media can be perfectly objective. But by and large they do try.
There are, of course, liberal media outlets in the world. And it seems that they outnumber the conservative press. Still, economics tend to dictate that most media today are neither left nor right, but right down the middle. But newspapers, especially, have a heritage of activism that gives rise to the “liberal media” misnomer. From a historical perspective, the press has always been seen first as a watchdog against government injustice, and then as a crusader for reform when injustice was found. Classic examples abound, from national history such as Watergate, to more local Tennessean exposés such as the abuse in the walking horse industry.
The current “critics” of the mainstream media, those who get their “news” from biased Web sites or talk shows, where little or no effort is made to distinguish editorial position from hard news, are lacking some basic knowledge about the role of the media in society. A true media critic understands the distinction between editorials and news, realizes the internal efforts toward objectivity, and knows that, generally, readers don’t know as much about the subject as reporters. That’s what the reporters are there for, isn’t it?
So, next time you hear someone say that the media have a liberal bias and can’t be trusted, do what I do. Try to decide whether to laugh or to cry.
Crusading again
Has The Tennessean decided to be a newspaper again? Three recent series highlight an apparent rebirth of the kind of crusading journalism for which the local daily was once known. First, the exhaustive dissection of the capital punishment issue is worthy of praise. The series examining, among other things, the sometimes arbitrary judicial process and the frequency of subpar legal representation was informative and balanced.
Second, the series on cancer research and treatment continues to impress. It’s an issue that virtually every family deals with at one time or another.
Finally, Leon Alligood’s series of stories about methamphetamine on the Cumberland Plateau is a great example of what a large newsgathering organization with sufficient resources of time and talent can do.
Guest columnist Leonard Assante is the communication department chair at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin.
