Journalists should not spend much of their time writing about journalism. The world is more interesting than the inky habits of the people who report on it. But this week we are making an exception, because the discovery and dissemination of information matters a lot to politics. Don\u2019t take our word for it: \u201cA popular government,\u201d wrote James Madison in 1822, \u201cwithout popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both.\u201d Were Thomas Jefferson offered a choice between a government without newspapers and newspapers without a government, he said that he would choose the press (though that is probably going a bit far).<\/p>\n
As the turmoil at America\u2019s elite universities over antisemitism shows, creating a political culture in which people can argue constructively, disagree and compromise is not something that happens spontaneously. In media, business models, technology and culture can work together to create those conditions. They can also pull in the opposite direction. Our analysis of over 600,000 pieces of written and television journalism shows that the language of the mainstream American media has drifted away from the political centre, towards the Democratic Party\u2019s preferred terminology and topics. That could lower the media\u2019s credibility among conservatives.<\/p>\n
As the country braces for next year\u2019s election, it is worth thinking about the internal forces that deepened this rift. You can take comfort from the fact that the industry has been buffeted time and again during its long history, yet somehow survived. The worry is that today\u2019s lurch may prove worse than any before.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a> (subscription).<\/p>\n The leftward leanings of America\u2019s mainstream media undermine their ability to put the record straight. Can you have a healthy democracy without a common set of facts? https:\/\/t.co\/saHG3ZVRJc<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/KeQN8ScUbn<\/a><\/p>\n — The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n