Anyone watching mainstream national news understands that it is highly polarized. There are a few bright spots, like NewsNation, that make legitimate attempts to be balanced. But for the most part, if you want to get an accurate view of American politics, you have to consume more than one outlet.
According to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, about 65% of Americans primarily turn to news outlets that reflect their political views. We believe the true percentage is much higher. While it can feel comforting to be surrounded by familiar narratives, this tendency can lead us into echo chambers that stifle critical thinking and limit our understanding of the world. We often say, “Common sense dies in an echo chamber.”
Echo chambers can make us complacent. When we only hear opinions that align with our own, we risk becoming less informed and more dogmatic. We miss out on the nuanced discussions essential for tackling complex issues. By avoiding media and people that present differing perspectives, we effectively silence the other side of the story.
You might be surprised by who is least likely to engage with people whose opinions are different. We were not surprised by Axios’ 2019 poll that showed young Democrats expressed reluctance to date, befriend, or work with individuals who identify as Republicans or conservatives. A 2020 Pew study showed similar results, with 71% of millennial Democrat respondents saying they would not date a Trump voter. In the four years since those surveys, we believe it has gotten worse.
This aversion to engaging with differing political beliefs fosters a troubling divide, eroding trust and understanding within our communities. When we refuse to have conversations with our neighbors who think differently, we sow seeds of distrust that can grow into significant societal rifts.
Limiting ourselves to one ideological viewpoint can obscure critical truths. For example, those who primarily consume liberal media will likely never have heard the following facts:
Donald Trump did not call white supremacists “very fine people” at the Charlottesville rally. Instead, he referred to a group protesting the removal of a Confederate statue. He specifically denounced white supremacists.
Donald Trump, several times before, during, and after his Jan. 6 speech, called for peaceful protest.
Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams, have questioned election legitimacy. Abrams has yet to concede her 2018 loss to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Democratic leaders from Maxine Waters to Jamie Raskin have asked that the voice of the electors be rejected.
During the summer of unrest in 2020, Democratic National Committee leaders fanned the flames with divisive words. By conservative estimates, at least 25 people died in the related riots.
But this road goes both ways. If conservatives only tune into the drumbeat of conservative media outlets, they might miss out on critical issues covered by outlets like MSNBC or CNN. For instance, they might not see the following coverage:
Extensive reporting on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, emphasizing systemic inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes.
Donald Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, sparking conversations about tax avoidance among the wealthy.
Continuing focus on environmental disparities and government neglect in Flint, Michigan, where the community faced lead contamination in its water.
If we live in the land of selective outrage, we will ignore news that doesn’t fit our narrative. This is the kind of context that often gets lost when we confine ourselves to one side of the political spectrum.
Because we found that the voices of conservative African Americans, women, and millennials were underrepresented in mainstream news, we created BPALiveWire. We hope to grow our audience among non-conservatives by presenting a fair conservative point of view.
Share this article with people in your community who would be advantaged by adding conservative voices to their media consumption.
---
The Bass Sisters: Dee Dee Bass Wilbon and Deana Bass Williams are sisters and co-founders of Bass Public Affairs a Washington, DC based public affairs firm. They co-host the podcast Policy and Pound Cake.
---
SUPPORT COMMON SENSE MEDIA
BPALiveWire is not in the pocket of corporate media. We are beholding to our readers and the truth. If you believe it is important to share African American free market, limited government voices in the media, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution.
Comments