I read with disappointment last week that the Associated Press was laying off 25 staffers, including two who cover statehouse news in Albany. The story, which was aired on the Washington Post website, had a single comment:
“A recent poll showed that only 6 percent of people in America now trust what mainstream media is reporting. So, is it any surprise that as the confidence in journalism is dying, there is less need for reporters. All I can say is welcome to the real America that so many of us have been experiencing. I hope cuts in the media will lead to better coverage by the few who remain.”
The name of the commenter is irrelevant. I am unaware of the poll that was referenced and doubt its accuracy, but it is clearly the case that the public’s faith in the “mainstream media” (whatever that means) has eroded over time, and that erosion has accelerated during the recently-concluded election cycle.
For a quick unscientific test, I did a search for the word “media” on Google News. Eight of the 13 entries on page one were negative stories about the media, including one from Forbes titled “The Real ‘Fake News’ is the Mainstream Media,” and another story from The National Interest that opens with the line: “To say that the media is biased and deceitful is to say that the sun rises in the east — a truism that is apparent to the vast majority of Americans.”
And so the second part of the comment above should come as no surprise to anyone. To a public with these low opinions, it serves our deceitful industry right that our numbers will be pruned by layoffs and closures. “That’ll teach ‘em! And maybe those that are left behind will think twice about writing biased stories that I don’t agree with!”
Of course, it is a tragically misguided opinion that cutting staff and reducing the resources at the fingertips of editors will somehow magically create “better coverage.” It is antithetical to believe that you can reduce the collective manpower in newsrooms across the country and that act will somehow improve the product. A baseball team doesn’t get better if it only trots six or seven players out onto the field.
As “confidence in journalism is dying,” there is more need than ever for reporters to produce factually accurate, unbiased accounts of the news of the day. And in an era where fake news and propaganda lurk under every click of the mouse, there is a great urgency for the companies that are out there honorably defending the fourth estate — and with it our democracy — to shout it from the rooftops.
This is not a blanket denial of the media’s responsibility for the decline in public trust. There are plenty of obvious failures where broadcasters, in particular, but also some “mainstream” print organizations have allowed their biases to cloud their decision-making. There is blame enough to go around.
But the fact — and I believe it is fact — remains, that vigorous, unbiased reporting is our best hope for a more enlightened society. And despite the thoughtless opinion expressed above, there are hundreds of news agencies across the nation that practice this type of journalism every day.
The same day that I read about the AP layoffs, I saw an interactive photo essay from the New York Times on the intense and violent crackdown on alleged drug offenders in the Philippines. It was one of the most powerful pieces of journalism I can remember, and the descriptive writing and vivid photography crystallized, with chilling detail, an issue that I had previously known little about.
It reminded me of why this industry is so important, and how, through knowledge, we can work toward a more just society, both here and abroad. It also made me proud, for the thousandth time, to be a member of the media.
David Tyler is the publisher of Eagle News in Syracuse.
