Reestablishing Trust in Journalism in A Post-Truth World

In a 2019 article published by the website First Things, Les Sillars wrote about the future of news journalism. In the piece, Sillars writes about the ever changing landscape of news media in response to three factors: the increased role of advertising and corporate interests, the unprecedented pushback from politicians such as Donald Trump, and the decreasing level of trust the public places in news as the fourth pillar of democracy (Sillas 2019). While the article does a good job outlining these problems, it overlooks some significant details. Mainly, the piece treats political bias as a new phenomenon, rather than something that has always been present in the relationship between news reporters and their audience. Furthermore, it does not offer any solutions to this predicament.

Something that the piece fails to account for is a phenomenon that has always been present in viewership; cognitive dissonance. This is a behavioral theory that explains human actions as an attempt to create psychological equilibrium. People desire consistency between how they act and how they think. This means when people act in such a way that contrasts with their beliefs and attitudes, they feel uncomfortable. This uneasy feeling is called cognitive dissonance (West 2017)..

There are several ways people can reduce cognitive dissonance. First, they can implement the practice of  selective exposure. This is when people search for information that already conforms to their beliefs. Another tactic is to use selective attention by only paying attention to present information when it reinforces their preexisting beliefs (West 2017). News organizations are aware of this and take advantage of cognitive dissonance when crafting their message. They will use dramatic or suggestive vocabulary in their headlines or papers to reinforce their worldview (a practice that is called spinning). They may also rely on sensationalism and use suggestive word choices and phrases to grab readers attention (Mastrine 2021). So when conservative viewers become disillusioned with mainstream media and turn to Fox News, or left leaning viewers identify NBC as honest journalism, both groups are in effect searching for the same thing, which is to find an authority that will tell them they are right (Sillars 2019).

One of the few types of news programming that have understood how to repair that illusion of transparency with its audience are those shows that are part of the comedy news genre. Programs such as The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and The Late Show with Stepehn Colbert saw greater relevance in this new environment. Part of what separates this from traditional news shows is how they frame the information they present. Instead of denying the presence of any agenda, they instead acknowledge their views up front and write the show around creating a convincing argument. Last Week Tonight, for example, often frames their news stories much like  a rhetorical essay, in which they present evidence to support their claims. 

Another important distinction is how these shows employ humor to establish their intentions with the audience, rather than try to recreate a now defunct sense of authority and professionalism, these shows use hyperbolic humor to not only emphasize their point, but to establish a relationship with their skeptical audience.

This phenomenon is present in marketing, where advertisers will use ironic humor and acknowledge the artifice of what they are selling in order to appeal to jaded consumers who are used to traditional approaches to ads. Using this type of strategy makes products feel unique even as they exist in an oversaturated marketplace with countless rival products. In one experiment, subjects viewed both traditional and ironic advertisements in a controlled environment. The results showed that people were more likely to pay attention to advertisements that relied on irony (Cerejeira 2018). 

 Likewise, new programs that openly explore their political ideology paradoxically create a sense of transparency and build trust with its viewership. Part of that is creating a framework that helps the audience understand what its goals are. In the case of the Daily Show, this means comedy segments, fake correspondents and skits that remind the audience that place it firmly in the realm of satire (Levin 2014). 

In contrast, something such as Last Week Tonight, a weekly talk show on HBO hosted by comedian John Oliver, leans heavily toward comedy but is not attempting to act as a parody of news shows (Levin 2014). Therefore it requires a different framework. The show structures its main stories almost like an essay, in which it will introduce a subject, present an opinion about it that acts as a thesis, and then spends its air time supporting that argument with news segments, first hand interviews, or quantitative data. For one of their earliest stories, Oliver introduces the topic of tobacco. He then establishes the context of how even though the sale of tobacco is heavily regulated, tobacco sales are at an all time high due to immoral business practices in the international market (which serves as his thesis). Then throughout the segment, Oliver then lists examples of court cases where big tobacco companies sued third world countries to lift restrictions on their products (Last Week Tonight). Last Week Tonight uses this structure to lend an air of credibility to his argument. In addition, the show will often list their sources on the screen whenever they cite a source, which reinforces the show credibility by opening itself up to fact checking. The show still leans toward comedy, however, and will rely upon hyperbolic language and colorful imagery that will stick with the viewer.

To be clear, this is not an attempt to advocate that the comedic approach to news reporting that was popularized by the likes of John Stewart or Steven Colbert should become the new industry standard. Rather, it is an illustration that while bias will always affect how the industry relays information, and that people are more aware of it, there are still ways to restore trust in the public consciousness.

References

Cerejeira, Tomás. “How to Exploit Irony in the Advertisement World.” Medium, NOVA Marketing Insights, 12 Apr. 2018, medium.com/nova-marketing-insights/how-to-exploit-irony-in-the-advertisement-world-3a33768c729c. 

LastWeekTonight, director. Tobacco: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). YouTube, YouTube, 15 Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsHHOCH4q8. 

Levin, Gary. “It's Time for John Oliver's 'Last Week Tonight'.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 23 Apr. 2014, www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/04/23/john-oliver-hbo-last-week-tonight/8046989/. 

Mastrine, Julie. “How to Spot 11 Types of Media Bias.” AllSides, 14 July 2021, www.allsides.com/media-bias/how-to-spot-types-of-media-bias. 

Sillars, Les. “The Future of NEWS: Les Sillars.” First Things, 1 Mar. 2019, www.firstthings.com/article/2019/03/the-future-of-news.

West, Richard. Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application. McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US), 2017. [VitalSource Bookshelf].