The list of potential causes of our political dysfunction is long and varied – too much money in politics, outdated legacy systems like the electoral college, Gerrymandered redistricting schemes, cryptic rules like the filibuster, voter suppression, activist judges, tribalism, conspiracy theories, the urban-rural divide. There’s little doubt that all these factors are playing a role in the way our institutions of self-governance are functioning and the downright cynicism many citizens feel today toward democracy in America.
Contributing to the upheaval, and perhaps the seed from which much of it grows, is the abject failure of our country’s mass communication system. In the 1980s, the advent of cable television sparked an era of deregulation of the media sector which created the fragmented, partisan media ecosystem we have today. Add to that the brave new world of social media and the powerful economic incentive social media platforms have to amplify attention-grabbing content, regardless of whether it’s true or serves the public interest, and it’s no wonder citizens are divided and ill-informed.
The current media environment is also one where access to quality fact-based information is becoming increasingly complex and dependent on socioeconomic status. While the Internet has vastly expanded access to more quality journalism than we imagined just a few decades ago, paywalls and required subscriptions now limit this content to those who can afford it, and are willing and able to register their credit cards to get it. Recently, NPR’s Scott Simon wrote about this growing trend:
“I have a strong, even personal interest in paying journalists fairly. But the cost most people have to pay these days if they want to try to stay informed and enrich their minds with a range of opinions is pretty steep.
The current media environment is also one where access to quality fact-based information is becoming increasingly complex and dependent on socioeconomic status.
It's become harder to read more than an article or two in most publications … News sites, from The New York Times and The Washington Post to The Des Moines Register, insist you subscribe. So do Ebony, The New Yorker, The Economist, Rolling Stone and opinion journals, including The Nation and National Review, and sports-reporting sites. And of course, there are proliferating newsletters and extra-access-plus plans, as news broadcasters begin their own subscription services. They don't crave an audience, so much as what they call a ‘customer base.’
‘You can't do much web grazing of quality content these days without a paywall clanging shut on you,’ Jack Shafer wrote last year in Politico. ‘What delights publishers about subscriptions is what everybody from Amazon to Spotify to the Dollar Shave Club to Netflix love — the annuity-like reliability of steady revenue.’
But the cost of inducing people to subscribe is to make news, information and a range of opinions available to only those who have the means to afford and receive them online. This skews the audience toward what Nikki Usher, a University of Illinois College of Media associate professor, calls the ‘rich, white, and blue,’ as in left-leaning.
The political and social divides, which so many decry, may begin between those who can and those who can't afford access to a wide range of fact-checked, accurate information. Disinformation, of course, is utterly free.”
As I researched information for this column, I ran across an article titled “Media Leaders Worry About Subscription Wealth Gap” at Business Insider. When I clicked on the link I got this message: “This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.” No kidding!
Here at JPR, we continue to believe that universal access to high-quality journalism and fact-based information is an essential element of a democratic society. Our mix of local, regional, national and international content will always be free and available to everyone, as a fundamental value of our public service mission and thanks to the thousands of citizens who voluntarily support our work so generously, year after year.
