What's Wrong With The Legacy Media? The Collapse Of Journalism's "Golden Age"

It is a genuine concern that we see a constant rise in media bias with platforms providing an unfair advantage to certain groups, and using tricks developed by journalists not only to engage the reader but to control their reactions and control how they think. Tactics such as panel stacking, loaded language, selective coverage, and omission of facts is all too common in the modern era, but it wasn't always like this.

In the past, there was a time when journalism provided the news straight and without twist, where the media didn't blur the lines of fact-checking, entertainment and opinions. The so-called "Golden Age of Journalism" between 1927-1987 was a time when the responsibility of journalism was to present balanced news, with minimal bias and a stance of neutrality on all topics within a nation. This age was primarily governed by what is called the "Doctrine of Social Responsibility", also known as the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press which was a combination of government regulations such as the Radio Act 1927 (US), Wireless Telegraphy Act 1905 (AUS) ABC Act 1932 (AUS). Self-regulation by both public and private cable networks and papers adopted the SRT for public interest as a form of corporate social responsibility for the people.

Regulations determined the control of broadcasting licenses based on how stations fell on public convenience, interest or necessity, which in turn with self-regulation built the foundations of journalism's golden age. The horrors of WWI and the use of propaganda also shifted academics' concerns about how new media forms (Radio, TV) could be used to control the masses, contributing to fear in governments and companies. Within Nazi Germany, the nationalisation of the film industry by Dr Joesph Goebells and it's use of propaganda throughout it's reign persuaded regulators and news companies to ensure such a thing would never occur in the United States or the Anglosphere.

The true age of journalism's golden age began in 1949, when the United States FCC introduced a policy known as the "fairness doctrine" which stipulated broadcasters to dedicate some of their airtime to controversial matters of public interest, while also requiring them to provide contrasting views. This resulted in a media environment where arguments could be provided by both Sides. In addition to the social responsibility theory, the news wouldn't control how people thought and felt, instead allowing them to think for themselves with the information provided. At the time a side effect of this was private networks had to air their news programs at a loss (sometimes break-even) to ensure they maintained their broadcasting licences for their other programs. This created a period where media also reinforced objectivity (mainstream American/Australian values) which at the time had strong anti-communist sentiment, heightened by McCarthyism during the 1950s.

Due to the debunking of McCarthy's claims in 1954 and the effective downfall of intrusive anti-communist sentiment in 1959, it resulted in much of the American public believing the media was complicit in McCarthy's rise to fame and popularity. The media's original goal of reporting on what people said without challenge was ending, and that the media should now take a proactive role in truth-seeking, partisanship and putting the facts into perspective. In the same time period the Vietnam War and the emergence of the New Left in the 1960s believed the media's stance on objectivity was a roadblock and threat for progressive and social change, due to it being complicit in pro-establishment rhetoric. the radicalization of university campuses and new requirements for journalists to hold degrees resulted in a gradual overrepresentation of left-leaning individuals in the media industry, changing journalism to become a role of activism, the guide of truth and morality of the nation.

during the late 1980s, there were also pushes from within the industry to innovate, and appeal more to potential consumer demands. This resulted in the blending of news and entertainment (such as 60 minutes) and the rise of edutainment more broadly. This comes from the urge of shareholders to make unprofitable news programs to generate profit by appealing to consumer demands, rather than journalistic standards and principles. In 1987, the final blow to the "golden age of journalism" was hit by the conservative establishment (Reagan Administration), the FCC struck down the fairness doctrine in a 4-0 ruling in favour of allowing free market forces to determine how news programs will operate.

Overall, "golden journalism" got hit by all sides. It got attacked from within the industry (innovation, move towards entertainment), from the activist left in order to abolish objectivity and from the right in terms of deregulation. Whether it was a good or bad things there are cost and benefits of the decision that was made.

The Consequences:

There has been a clear trend since the 70's of people becoming more and more dissatisfied with the media. according to Gallup News, in 2022 alone more than 38% of Americans don't have any trust in mainstream media, followed by 34% who trust, and 28% who are unsure.

The divide between trust and mistrust is also more evident among party lines. Gallup's other data suggests that on average Republicans distrust the media more than Democrats, and this can likely be attributed due to the radicalization and progressive shift in universities since the 60s, employment obstructions (university degrees) and the attack on objectivity in the media industry. As a result, a large portion of mainstream media tends to resonate more with democrats due to progressives getting an early foothold in the industry, and the directive of big media to promote ideas such as social justice, DEI, ESG (progressive policies) to the masses and take on the role of fact-checking.

Over the last 30 years, the trend of mistrust has increased, and the divide between Republicans and Democrats has grown resulting in a large political divide. While democrats have on average regained confidence in the media, republics have consistently trended downwards since FCC stuck the fairness doctrine. There is also a divide amongst age groups, where Republicans aged 18-34 only had 16% trust in mass media, while Democrats of the same age had over 51%. it is noted that younger democrats have less trust than retirees. Overall the trend of media distrust is increasing with both progressives and conservatives, although at vastly different rates.

The study also suggests college degree obtainments have a negligible impact on media trust for the major parties.

The Benefits:

the conglomeration of market forces determining the news and deregulation has resulted in greater economic activity and performance of these news networks, as well as greater scalability of the news organisations. The push from the activist left for "truth-telling" resulted in the rise of investigative journalism which would highlight institutional corruption, war crimes and classified information to the public, such as Wikileaks cablegate. It would also inform people of media blackspots and the rise of international news in Africa, Middle East and Asia regarding corruption, civil wars, election fraud and much more.

Public Opinions:

Some scholars and industry insiders such as Donna Halper attribute partisanship as a natural trend that's been in the media since the 1800s and had only temporarily been mitigated in the 1900s. While others such as Richard Greco state free market forces are responsible and necessary for the modern-day survival of networks, which already have a specially catered audience, making it easy for them to operate as a business. Cathy Young, a cultural studies scholar states wokeness and that the failure of the left to admit it's existance worsens the ongoing culture war and polarization in America (including the media establishment). In addition, she goes on to describe the elements of wokeness being actively promoted in industries which has resulted in counter-response from the right.

#journalism #auspol #news #media #journalisticstandards #bigmedia #polarization #partisanship #australianews #USnews #morality #objectivism #fairnessdoctrine #mccarthy

References:

Brenan, M. (2022, October 18). Americans’ Trust In Media Remains Near Record Low. Gallup; Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/403166/americans-trust-media-remains-near-record-low.aspx

CFI Team. (2022, October 10). Friedman Doctrine. Corporate Finance Institute. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/equities/friedman-doctrine/

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Jr, R. D. H., & Times, S. T. the N. Y. (1987, August 5). F.C.C. VOTES DOWN FAIRNESS DOCTRINE IN A 4-0 DECISION. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/05/arts/fcc-votes-down-fairness-doctrine-in-a-4-0-decision.html

Vrisakis, M., Islam, T., & Liew, S.-V. (2020, March 26). The Fairness Doctrine: A Return to the Status Quo? (M. Vrisakis, Ed.) [Review of The Fairness Doctrine: A Return to the Status Quo?]. Herbet Smith Freehills; Herbet Smith Freehills. https://www.herbertsmithfreehills.com/insights/2020-03/the-fairness-doctrine-a-return-to-the-status-quo

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CBS News With Douglas Edwards on Thursday, May 15, 1952. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IAQ5lHIFKA

Ryan Chapman. (2022, May 7). Why News Was So Neutral in the ’50s & ’60s. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgZPJpdmw3A

Achter, P. (2022, December 5). McCarthyism | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica. Www.britannica.com; Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/McCarthyism

(2023). Cato.org. https://www.cato.org/commentary/pushback-against-wokeness-legitimate

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