Why journalists are failing the public with 'both-siderism' in political coverage

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-10-15/republicans-democrats-both-siderism-political-failures

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https://archive.is/ouzQH


American politics has changed dramatically since my post-Watergate generation of journalists began covering the story. Political journalism hasn’t kept up.

For years it was easy to cover “both sides” — Republicans and Democrats — as equally worthy, and blameworthy, partners in democracy. While we reporters had come of age as witnesses to the unprecedented resignation of a Republican president who’d tried to corrupt the institutions of government to affect an election — imagine! — what remained was a Republican Party still capable of a creditable role in a healthy two-party system. After all, Richard M. Nixon was forced to resign when congressional leaders of his party began abandoning him. Again, imagine that, Kevin McCarthy.

Now, when reporters or pundits use the words “both sides” in regard to some political problem, I stop reading or listening.

I started to chafe at false equivalence a quarter-century ago, as a congressional reporter amid Newt Gingrich’s Republican revolution. One party — his — was demonstrably more responsible for the nasty divisiveness, government gridlock and norm-busting, yet journalistic pressure to produce seemingly “balanced” stories — pressure both ingrained and imposed by editors — prevented reporters from sufficiently reflecting the new truth.

*snip*

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

By 2012, as President Obama dealt with the willful obstructionists, conspiracists and racists of an increasingly radicalized Republican Party, political scientists and long-respected Washington watchers Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein put the onus for the dysfunction squarely on the GOP in their provocative book “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks.” Significantly, they implicated journalists: “A balanced treatment of an unbalanced phenomenon is a distortion of reality and a disservice to your consumers.”

The ascension of Donald Trump four years later should not have been such a surprise. With his continued hold on the Republican Party in the Biden era, Mann and Ornstein’s admonition is truer than ever.

Yes, it’s critical for political journalists to remain fair and balanced, in contrast with the right-wing network that cynically co-opted those adjectives. And, yes, variations on the word “lie” justifiably made it into the mainstream — something I never thought I’d see, let alone write — to describe what comes out of Trump’s mouth whenever his lips move. Sadly, that was progress.

Yet, now that Trump is no longer president and his words no longer can fire senior officials, move troops or launch bombs, his unhinged utterances go largely uncovered, for better and worse. Better, for everyone’s mental health. Worse, because he is the favorite to be Republicans’ 2024 nominee and perhaps president again, and still commands his party — enabled by his sycophants in Congress, state capitals and thousands of local public offices. Attention must be paid.

[DURHAM D]

2. I assume that now most reporters have degrees in marketing/advertising, not journalism. nt

[FakeNoose]

3. "Journalists" have been shirking for going on 40 years now

[spooky3]

7. That's good. Nt

[spanone]

4. Thanks, the L.A.Times story is spot on. K&R

[PortTack]

5. This....I just no longer tune in. It's disgusting

[MissMillie]

6. K & R (n/t)

.

[ananda]

8. They're doing it on purpose. Their bosses demand it.

...

[StClone]

14. Exactly. When I took a journalism class back in the '80's

The most well-informed, well-rounded, diligent students, enlightened students I was around were the journalism majors. They were an impressive bunch. There weren't out to be millionaires, or slaves to the elites. They craved facts, knowledge, and understanding.

Today money is the name of the game to control journalists' output. Public radio too. Wisconsin Public Radio has this problem to the point of weakness. In WI the Republicans are a toxic lot, but NO Public radio announcer can state that point, and stand behind it. They have to give equal time to trained monkey Republicans vs. a sane Dem for interviews.

Money is killing Democracy, us, and our planet, tainted journalism to the point of eliminating it as the 4th Estate.

[ananda]

15. I know. Money really is shit these days.

...

[love_katz]

9. Huge kick and rec.

The corporate owned media, with their continual pushing of the fake both sides narrative, are part of the system that resulted in tRump. Both sides don't.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

10. The do both sides to drive liberals away from politics and two make repubs feel less guilty

for all the evil crap they perpetuate including TFG, who they, knew was a phony piece of shit the whole time.

Hillary was correct in everything she said about them and she could have called them a lot worse and it would have been true as well.

The M$M has gone too far in both sides crap just to make money...

[Boomerproud]

11. How many times do we need to point this out before things

change? Over and over again. The only response that gets their attention is voting with the remote.

[ThoughtCriminal]

12. They cover issues like it's a football game

Debate over the merits or demerits of legislation is ignored in favor of covering the politics.

The public is not informed about how laws will help or hurt the country - they just get updates on how "Their" team is doing.

[Tommymac]

16. This is very telling

I started to chafe at false equivalence a quarter-century ago, as a congressional reporter amid Newt Gingrich’s Republican revolution. One party — his — was demonstrably more responsible for the nasty divisiveness, government gridlock and norm-busting, yet journalistic pressure to produce seemingly “balanced” stories — pressure both ingrained and imposed by editors — prevented reporters from sufficiently reflecting the new truth

My bold. This says a lot it's the job of the editor/director/site-admin to make sure the paper/tv/internet stories spin in the direction of the publisher's viewpoint. Which happens' to be ultimately determined by the Owner.

And we all know that the 1% owns most of the World's major media which, with a few notable exceptions, promote 'bothsiderism' almost exclusively.