Markovich: Opinion vs. facts and the ever-blurring line within journalism
Nov 21, 2024, 11:06 AM | Updated: 11:08 am
The logo of the social network TikTok appears on the screen of a smartphone, and in the background, the flag of the United States. (Photo: Jaque Silva, Getty Images)
(Photo: Jaque Silva, Getty Images)
Accountability is expensive — now more than ever — especially in this new media age where opinion is far cheaper to produce and digging up the facts.
This past election showed the line between traditional journalism and opinion is becoming increasingly blurred.
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New data from the Pew Research Center — and they do a lot of studies on how people consume news and opinion — found a growing preference for digital platforms and opinion-driven content over traditional media like newspapers and network TV.
It said 63% of Americans over the age of 65 cited TV as their primary source for election news this year, but only 10% of adults under 30 years of age relied on TV. The study found that 50% of the under-30 group relied on social media and so-called “news influencers” who provide opinion-based takes rather than traditional reports.
For a guy who works hard to gather facts and attempts to ignore all the spin from politicians on either side, that particular statistic is alarming.
News influencers rely on someone else digging up the facts, like a traditional media source — The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal — and then they give their spin. Opinion is much cheaper to produce than the cold, hard facts, but I’ll agree with a lot of you; it’s getting harder to discern the difference.
Legacy brands like CNN, MSNBC and Fox News consistently blur the lines between objective reporting and editorial commentary.
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So where does that lead us? It’s my hope that you, the reader, will be able to discern the difference, and that media companies that value holding the powerful accountable will figure out a business model to make that happen because the old models are not working.
Someone has to pay for holding the powerful accountable because if that dies, what will pundits have to talk about?
Matt Markovich covers politics and public affairs for MyNorthwest and KIRO Newsradio.
