The Emerging Threat of 'Fake' News . ..... many of the established media houses in the US as 'Fake' news (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). After his election, the trend ...
The Role of Media in Shaping Political and Socio-Economic Narratives
Bora Kurum Istanbul Bilgi University 2018
2
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Theoretical Background ........................................................................................................................... 3 The Narratives of a Modern World .......................................................................................................... 4 The Evolving Strategies and Roles of the Media ...................................................................................... 6 The Perception of Bias from the Media .................................................................................................... 6 The Types and Impact of Media Bias on Political and Socio-economic Trends......................................... 8 Measuring and Evaluating Media Bias and the Factuality of Narratives.................................................... 9 The Emerging Threat of ‘Fake’ News .................................................................................................... 10 The Possibility of Attaining Balanced and Objective Media Reporting and Coverage ............................. 12 What ought to be Done Going Forward .................................................................................................. 14 Further Recommendations for the Future ............................................................................................... 15 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 16 References ............................................................................................................................................. 17
3
Introduction The media plays an integral role in influencing trends in the modern world. The information era, a phrase used to capture the way the world has developed to rely on information for most of the actions that people take, remains significantly different from all the other periods in the history of humanity. Information and narratives now have significant powers to change and influence the way people think and act, and more importantly, the reasoning they portray on various topics in their societies. The media plays a significant role in pushing for specific narratives and messages in the modern world. The current media has emerged as the most advanced system of communication that the humanity has ever experienced. Unlike in the past when information and narratives could take long periods to reach people, today the situation is significantly different owing to the developments that the modern media has seen in recent years. The role of the contemporary media in driving narratives has been studied quite extensively. The existing base of literature has focused mainly on the way the media delivers messages from the source to the consumer. The current paper recognises that most researchers and commentators have not studied as extensively as required the role that media and communication play in driving narratives on political and social-economic trends. As such, the focus of this paper will be on the ways through which media and communication outlets influence the reasoning that people hold as truths in a world that has diverse sources of unfiltered information from multiple sources.
Theoretical Background The most basic definition of a narrative is a record and an account of interconnected events, or just defined as a story. People have cognitive wiring that leads them into believing the stories
4 that they hear multiple times. The people living in different societies may be directed to holding different and varied views regarding a standard issue and topic. Taking such a look as the basis of the argument to be presented herein, it is essential to analyse the narratives that are initiated at media outlets and propagated to the people who are so eager to consume such information emanating from the media (Robinson, 2001). The media has a critical role in the communications that are made in the modern world. It is unquestionable that the contemporary world has a myriad of contentious issues to deal with considering the many diverse points of view that people discuss various topics. The contention often arises from the beliefs that people have and the principles that guide their thinking and judgment. The political and socio-economic sectors of the modern society have limited topics and subjects that people a common belief in. For instance, many people have highly diverse views on the political and socio-economic issues. Unfortunately, with the democratisation of the modern societies, many people have to believe in a specific narrative for them to support it and have it implemented in their spaces of living. In this regard, the media, which plays an integral and critical role in communication, has significant powers to sway the beliefs that people hold as truths (Kitzinger, 2000).). The current paper will analyse the strategies that the modern media utilises to have people believe in specific issues and have them reject others. Additionally, the present paper will explain the morals and ethical principle that the modern media outlets have to practice if the critical role that they play will oversee the development of a morally sustainable human society for all people.
The Narratives of a Modern World Unlike in past periods in the history of the world, stories emerge and spread more quickly hence influencing the information that reaches people. It is not questionable that today, information
5 spreads more rapidly considering the development and advancements that modern media systems have acquired in recent years. The spread of data from the source to the consumer takes a shorter span of time than that it used to take in previous years. The modern narratives that the media chooses to present have a specific role that they are supposed to serve among the members of the public. As such, a story relayed through the media has to be chosen appropriately, packaged systematically and presented to the consumers in a way that evokes a specific reaction that will serve to support or derail a particular cause. It should be understood that every story and news item has multiple sides from where any person can choose to analyse and interpret it from as they process it in a form that they can understand. The media outlets, which are the most critical players in the modern communication niche, choose to receive, package and present specific information as per the cause and trend they may be supporting. The demand for new information from the public is growing with every other new day. The rate of consumption of news in the modern world has surged more than at any other given period from the past. As such, the media outlets that have the most diverse sources of new information have the most significant public followings. The larger the following that a media outlet has, the more successful it is especially when it comes to catering for the costs of the operations that it supports. It is important to note that people have the affinity to the consumer at a faster rate news items and information that is more contentious than that which is common knowledge (Ward & Wasserman, 2010). The newness of information and the levels of controversy that it evokes determines the rate at which it will be consumed. As such, the most advanced news and media outlet, the one with the most significant area of coverage will attract the most significant levels of following. The ability to influence broad masses of the dominated class of people determines the levels of success that a media outlet will record. As such, the modern media has to
6 find a way to adjust the information that it acquires in a way that will help it meet the core elements of influencing, educating and informing that the media serves in public.
The Evolving Strategies and Roles of the Media The role of media has not remained static when considering that most of those it serves have changed quite considerably. The environment in which the modern media operates has also turned in a significant manner. The fact that the press is helping a primarily educated population, unlike in the past when most of the consumers of the information that the media presented were uneducated, has led to the need to adjust some of the strategies utilised in processing and offering news and information to the public. The current news and information consumer needs far more complicated procedures to convince them regarding the information and message contained in a news item (Borden, 2007). The media has to ensure that it owns the narrative that it seeks to push to the consumers that it serves. It is in this context that the concepts of left, neutral and right media outlets have emerged. It is unarguable that the information that reaches various consumers today has tinges of bias whose aim is to influence a specific position relating to the prevailing political and socio-economic trends. Therefore, if news and information from the media are to be taken in a context that could be reliable, it is imperative that the nature of bias and the position of the outlet presenting it is understood in the first place.
The Perception of Bias from the Media In the face of fierce competition of ideologies, various groups have sought to enhance their influence by capturing specific media outlets with the aim of maintaining their authority. There is
7 no question that media the most popular media outlets in the world today have adopted particular positions on various matters with the aim of appealing to multiple bases of consumers. For instance, in the United States, numerous media houses reporting on the same news item can do so but present mostly different interpretations of it to the masses that consume their information. The right-wing media often pushes for and interprets news and information that is developed to be consistent with the conservative ideologies. Similarly, left-wing media outlets have grown accustomed to understanding various news items in a way that appeals to the consumers who uphold liberal views. Following such a trend, the levels of bias in the reporting that comes out of various media outlets have been quite disturbing. However, pushed by the need to sustain an audience following, most media outlets in the United States have primarily disregarded the journalistic demand of fair and factual reporting as they seek to maintain the viewers that they have acquired so far. The question of whether the levels of bias in the media reporting has influenced specific narratives and changed the ideas and reasoning that people have ended up developing has emerged. It is a common belief among media scholars that the media outlets that operate in the various markets have had a significant influence in the ideologies and narratives that have shaped the trends that are prevailing in multiple societies today. A community that upholds conservative views draws its motivation mainly from the right-wing media outlets that push for such narratives. Similarly, the media outlets viewed as being leftist, with their bias for liberal ideas, have been useful in capturing and maintaining an audience that is in support of liberal and progressive political and socio-economic issues in their societies. The perpetuation and continued biases in the reporting emerging out of the media outlets have been integral to the differences that have been playing out in public. It is clear that public opinion depends largely on the narratives that emerge
8 from the most popular media outlets. Therefore, with different media outlets maintaining their biases, it is difficult for a common ground to be attained on any single issue. Once such a trend persists, it becomes highly unlikely that any meaningful decisions can be made to aid in the governance of a community of people. Policymakers, media regulators and communication ethics campaigners should debate on and come up with a conclusive and useful standpoint if the current trend is to improve for the better.
The Types and Impact of Media Bias on Political and Socioeconomic Trends As mentioned earlier on, media bias is an issue that most people and experts agree that it exists primarily in the current era. Media outlets, or individual media personalities, often present their reporting and their discussion of various news items and topics in a way that indicates some level of bias. Scholars on the subject of media bias have studied and revealed that bias comes out in three different forms. First, there is coverage bias, which involves the over-reporting or underreporting of a specific item with the aim of controlling and influencing the reaction that people could have over it. The second form is that of selection bias, in which topics are selected and covered in a specific way mainly with the aim of pushing for a particular ideology and narrative. Statement and tonality bias emerges as the third form, and it plays out when those reporting on a specific item choose to use a tone that is aiming to attain particular results to those consuming such information as that relayed through that report. It is important to note that the identified forms of bias are usually adopted mainly with the aim of influencing political and socio-economic conversations to take up a specific position. In most cases, considering the levels of influence that the individual journalists and media outlets, the three forms of bias are so efficient that the attainment of their roles becomes successful so quickly.
9 The main impact of media bias is the presentation of non-objective and unbalanced information as news items for the consumption of the public. Chiefly, the propagation of biased information and news to the public influences the narratives that end up being popular among the members of the public. It is clear that the central role of media outlets, especially in the current era, is to push for the adoption of specific narratives (Valentino, Hutchings, Banks & Davis, 2008). Media players, specific business corporations and political stakeholders often rely on the media to push for and attain particular outcomes with the press. Apparently, the primary issue with the narratives that emerge from media outlets is to influence particular groups of people in society into accepting or rejecting a specific position. Unfortunately, journalistic standards, morals and ethical guidelines may lead to a situation in which non-factual information is presented for the consumption of the public (Broersma, 2010). It is important to note that significant investments are often made to push for specific narratives in society. The various entities that could benefit from the popularity of a particular description in public may donate large amounts of resources with the objective of having many people support it. Since most media outlets and journalists are in the field for business gain, it is possible various standards and codes of practice may be disregarded and information twisted in a way that fits the narrative that will then be presented to and adopted by the public. The impact in such a situation is a public that could be misled to taking and believing a specific position based on the lies and misrepresentations that could be availed to them through the media outlets operating in their societies.
Measuring and Evaluating Media Bias and the Factuality of Narratives It is essential that background checks are made and a determination sought before consuming and taking as right the information presented to the public from various media outlets
10 (Mumby, 1993). The modern news item consumer is typically educated and well informed. As such, it is proper that the information presented to the public is analysed for objectivity and factuality before it is accepted as real. However, it is not possible to conduct such a background check if the person involved has already been misled to believe that specific media outlets do not present reliable information (Bardoel & d'Haenens, 2004). Therefore, public organisations have to come up with a strategy that will oversee active monitoring of the content coming out various media outlets. Such civic organisations have to be fair, non-partisan and they should be free of any perception of unethical influence from other quarters. Unless such a body is an organisation is set up, the negative impact of misleading news reporting and coverage may end up negatively influencing public narratives and opinions. The agencies charged with the responsibility of ensuring ethical conduct from among media practitioners should push to ensure that proper codes of conduct are upheld. Such organisations should employ all the recommended strategies that will yield fair and responsible news coverage and report, an aspect that will in turn influence factual narratives. In such a situation, it will then be possible for the public to make proper judgments on all the issues of concern in the political and socio-economic spheres of life in the society.
The Emerging Threat of ‘Fake’ News In the days during the November 2016 election in the US, the Republican presidential candidate, who ended up winning the race, dismissed the negative coverage that he received from many of the established media houses in the US as ‘Fake’ news (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). After his election, the trend of accusing media outlets that criticised him as ‘Fake’ news continued. The trend has continued to date, and the impact has been of monumental proportions. Today, every news item that is presented to the public will either be celebrated as factual and objective in some
11 sections but dismissed, criticised negatively and termed as ‘Fake’ news in some other quarters in public. The situation is worsening with every other new day, and the American president takes credit for such a trend. Unlike in the past when influential political leaders, those with a massive following, avoided discrediting the media however negative they covered them, the current White House administration is largely different. The Trump administration has made its followers believe that anything covered negatively by them is ‘Fake’ news. The continued trend of dismissing the objectivity and factuality of the information presented to the public through media houses has indeed threatened the role that media plays in public communication and dissemination of information. The media in the United States, and elsewhere in the world, has a critical role to play. In a world pushing to democratise every society of humanity, the media plays a crucial role in ensuring that every person has the information required for him or her to make decisions on the way their societies are run and managed. The media holds the critical responsibility of providing the awareness from where leaders can be reviewed as per the positions that they take on various matters in the political and socio-economic spheres of life (Bennett, 2016). It is apparent and unarguable that leaders, regardless of their field, wield significant levels of influence among the followers that they lead. The United States, being a model country for most other nations in the world, can influence trends around the globe. Specifically, the American president, who is mostly considered as being the most powerful man in the world owing to the structures of the office that he holds, has an immense capability of influencing others into believing in a particular narrative. Therefore, the persistence of President Trump that his administration is being undermined with the perpetuation of ‘Fake’ news has led to a situation in which many people in the US and elsewhere
12 in the world are dismissing the role that the media plays in strengthening and guaranteeing the democratic space. The perpetuation and persistence of the ‘Fake’ news narrative have come with several intended and unintended risks. Today, many people have been influenced to discredit the media if they report and comment on various contentious issues. If a media outlet presents news items and coverage that is contrary to what a specific person or group does not agree with, then such an outlet will be labelled as ‘Fake’ news. The role of the media is shrinking by the day, and the situation is worsening. In fact, in some cases, those opposed to the way some journalists present their views have been threatened or attacked, verbally and violently, an aspect that affects the operations of the media in the human society (Leudar, Hayes, Nekvapil & Turner Baker, 2008). It should also be understood that indeed, some media outlets do perpetuate ‘Fake’ news with the aim of appealing to a specific group of people. In fact, today, unlike at any other time in recent history, it is necessary to conduct a background check to confirm the authenticity of the information held in the news items emerging from various media outlets. Following all these considerations, it is indeed unarguable that the ‘Fake’ news narrative is impacting in a significant way the working and operations of media and its role in developing and enhancing a more democratic human society.
The Possibility of Attaining Balanced and Objective Media Reporting and Coverage The challenges that media outlets are facing have grown more complicated in recent days. The business component of the operations of the media outlets forces them to consider the inflow of revenue and the maintenance of an engaged audience. As the competition in the media industry increases, it emerges that media outlets have to admit the avenues from where they acquire the
13 revenues to enable them to run and efficiently manage their operations. In this context, the media outlets have to balance the way they report and cover various news items if they are to remain sustainable in their business. It is unarguable that political players and some significant stakeholders in the socioeconomic sphere of operation have infiltrated modern media outlets. The most popular media outlets across the world have been criticized for supporting various political and socio-economic causes while criticising any opposing positions to them. Apparently, media outlets have been forced to abandon the journalistic code of operation and lowered their standards in a way that allows them to accommodate the causes that are advanced by those who have infiltrated them. The media outlets have to adjust their news items and coverage to fit the narratives that the interested groups, who may have invested and donated to support their operations, could be advancing. The media outlets have been forced to bend the requirement for them to remain objective at all times and report to the truthful public information. Individual journalists, corrupted by the offers from the interest groups or their personal opinions and standpoints on various issues, have abandoned the principle of fair, objective and balanced reporting. The impact of such a trend is that the public receives news and information that could be misleading and unreliable for the decisions that those consuming it could be required to make. The situation is worsening, as more media outlets remain unable to control the corrupting practices of political and socio-economic special interest groups. The situation currently is complicated and disheartening especially with the knowledge that many of the people in the dominated class are unable to judge and decide on the news items that could be truthful and objective, and that which could be misleading. The influence of some leaders, especially those terming negative but factual coverage as ‘Fake’ news have led many people to reduce their belief on the matters that the media outlets report and comment on in their
14 practice. The situation is growing more complicated with each new day, and the credibility of media players is being exposed to dangerous questions. However, it is important to note that not all is lost yet and the situation can be salvaged. Media serves a critical role in the way the society receives, processes and utilises information. In fact, media is an essential unit in the efforts being adopted with the aim of democratisation of the human societies. Therefore, more efforts have to be undertaken to ensure that the narratives emerging from media players are reliable, objective and fair in the way they are reported. As such, more has to be done to ensure that the current situation is salvaged, ethical, and responsible media practices and journalistic undertakings are adopted.
What ought to be Done Going Forward It is unarguable that the modern media has not been as effective as it is required in fulfilling its mandate. It is unquestionable that media players have not been upholding the professional standards expected of them in recent years. Many players in the media sector have been propagating news and information aimed at fostering and advancing a specific position. It is undeniable that the influence from foreign entities has forced media outlets to adjust the coverage in a way that fits the context of particular narratives. The result has been motivating people to take up positions on various matters based on the claims that the media perpetuates. It is undoubted that the role of the media has shrunk in recent years and more people are seeking alternative sources of information considering the levels of the untrustworthiness of the reports emerging from media outlets. Upon an acknowledgement of the worrying trend emerging from current events in the media sector, it is then imperative that new ideas are sought on what needs to be done differently for the media to regain its lost glory.
15 Studies in the media and communication fields have revealed that people depend on the news and information emerging from media outlets to make their decisions on various matters. It has been ascertained that such a role that the media outlets are so critical that any form of misinformation may prove challenging to address. In this regard, the situation can change if a legal framework is sought to hold to responsibility the media professionals who misreport and misinform the public through the reporting and coverage that they provide. The legal framework existing today is not sufficient considering the developments and advancements that have been realized in the media and communication sectors. As such, the authorities that are responsible for regulating the information that reaches the public, ought to come up with an effective strategy that will ensure media practitioners do not push political and socio-economic narratives at the expense of fair, objective and balanced reporting. The enforcement of the legal framework that should be developed ought to be left to the professional entities that regulate standards and promote codes of practice for the qualified individuals in the field.
Further Recommendations for the Future Following a detailed and extensive review of literature conducted in the course of completing the current task, it emerged that there are currently limited studies conducted to ascertain the effect of the modern changes in the collection of news items, processing and dissemination to the public. The presently available studies focus on the issues from the past, which has been rendered obsolete especially by the technological developments that the world has experienced in recent years. As such, the current paper recommends that further studies be undertaken to ascertain the modern trend and events in the media and communication field. The
16 reviews have to be objective and consider the realities of the contemporary world regarding the changes between the modern and traditional media. Further, it is important to note that the active working and delivery of the functions of media in the society depends mostly on the personalities and commitment of the individual journalists. The trend of a lack in the dedication of journalists to the code of conduct and professional ethics in the field has been raised as a critical issue in the deteriorating of standards and a lack of trust in the news and information that the media presents to the public (Ward, 2015). It is clear from the evidence reported widely and documented in various quarters that the professionalism levels of journalists have been dropping quite drastically in recent years. As such, the only way the lost glory in the media and communication sector can be regained is by rethinking the curriculum for the training of journalists (Plaisance, 2013). All journalists have to be retrained on the need for them to focus on, and dedicate themselves to upholding the highest levels of integrity and ensure fair, objective and balanced reporting.
Conclusion A concession is made in the current paper that media and communication play a critical role in influencing political and socio-economic narratives. It is apparent that all news items currently reported in most media outlets have undertones of specific stories that such stores support on their own or the behalf of particular interest groups and personalities (Manovich, 2001). The trend is growing more concerning with each new day as most news items lack the objectivity and appeal that makes them reliable. As such, urgent steps have to be made to ensure the levels of external influence in the operations and working of media are maintained at their lowest. It should be understood that the ability of the press to push for specific narratives does not supersede the
17 demand and responsibility for objective news reporting placed on its shoulders. As such, all efforts have to be undertaken to ensure that the media and communication stakeholders play their roles responsibly by maintaining the ethical and moral standards required in the industry. Finally, all journalists have to be encouraged to uphold the principles of responsible practice considering the role they play in society if the field of media and communication is to regain its position in the modern and democratic human society.
References Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social media and fake news in the 2016 election (No. w23089). National Bureau of Economic Research. Bardoel, J. L. H., & d'Haenens, L. S. J. (2004). Media responsibility and accountability: New conceptualisations and practices. Bennett, W. L. (2016). News: The politics of illusion. University of Chicago Press. Borden, S. L. (2007). Journalism as practice: MacIntyre, virtue ethics and the press. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Broersma, M. (2010). The unbearable limitations of journalism: On press critique and journalism’s claim to truth. International Communication Gazette, 72(1), 21-33. Kitzinger, J. (2000). Media templates: patterns of association and the (re) construction of meaning over time. Media, Culture & Society, 22(1), 61-84. Leudar, I., Hayes, J., Nekvapil, J., & Turner Baker, J. (2008). Hostility themes in media, community and refugee narratives. Discourse & Society, 19(2), 187-221. Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media. MIT press. Mumby, D. K. (Ed.). (1993). Narrative and social control (Vol. 21). Sage.
18 Plaisance, P. L. (2013). Media ethics: Key principles for responsible practice. Sage Publications. Robinson, P. (2001). Theorizing the influence of media on world politics: Models of media influence on foreign policy. European Journal of Communication, 16(4), 523-544. Valentino, N. A., Hutchings, V. L., Banks, A. J., & Davis, A. K. (2008). Is a worried citizen a good citizen? Emotions, political information seeking, and learning via the internet. Political Psychology, 29(2), 247-273. Ward, S. J. (2015). The invention of journalism ethics: The path to objectivity and beyond (Vol. 38). McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP. Ward, S. J., & Wasserman, H. (2010). Towards an open ethics: Implications of new media platforms for global ethics discourse. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 25(4), 275-292.
