Day 5: St. Anselm Institute of Politics
Manchester, NH -
I don't know who needs to hear this, but politics shouldn't be a business. It is one, and it is a very profitable one. This, in my view, is morally wrong. It also flies in the face of the founding principles of this country: democracy and republicanism.
The St. Anselm IOP does not help rectify this issue, it exacerbates it. Not once in our presentation, which I would more aptly call a 'pitch', did I hear anything about campaigning, issues, or the experiment we call democracy. I was told the politics is a booming business that I could join if I just get to know the right people or go to the right school. More specifically, I got a view into the business of being a political media insider - a pundit - and the factory in which one is made.
To be clear, a robust and free press is fundamental to democracy. The role of the media should be to keep politicians honest, promote transparency, and inform the people. But pundits are not the same as reporters or journalists. They are tools of the establishment, of corporations, and of the rich as a whole. The US used to have rules in place regarding these types of media organizations and opinion commentators. The Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) established the 'fairness doctrine' in 1949. This doctrine forced holders of broadcast licenses to give 'fair' time to each side on a particular topic. The news was much different when this was in place. The FCC removed the doctrine in 1987. Both Fox News and MSNBC were created in 1996.
I would argue that the end of the fairness doctrine and the rise of punditry and opinion commentary has led us into the place we are today. That is, where each party or 'team', is enclosed in their comfy bubble (Fox, MSNBC) where they get constant reinforcement of their already held views, thereby giving them confirmation bias. I could go on and on about this but the philosophical term for this is 'epistemic closure' and it's a crucial problem in our society. The point is, St. Anselm IOP adds fuel to the fire of this crisis.
I don't know who needs to hear this, but politics shouldn't be a business. It is one, and it is a very profitable one. This, in my view, is morally wrong. It also flies in the face of the founding principles of this country: democracy and republicanism.
The St. Anselm IOP does not help rectify this issue, it exacerbates it. Not once in our presentation, which I would more aptly call a 'pitch', did I hear anything about campaigning, issues, or the experiment we call democracy. I was told the politics is a booming business that I could join if I just get to know the right people or go to the right school. More specifically, I got a view into the business of being a political media insider - a pundit - and the factory in which one is made.
To be clear, a robust and free press is fundamental to democracy. The role of the media should be to keep politicians honest, promote transparency, and inform the people. But pundits are not the same as reporters or journalists. They are tools of the establishment, of corporations, and of the rich as a whole. The US used to have rules in place regarding these types of media organizations and opinion commentators. The Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) established the 'fairness doctrine' in 1949. This doctrine forced holders of broadcast licenses to give 'fair' time to each side on a particular topic. The news was much different when this was in place. The FCC removed the doctrine in 1987. Both Fox News and MSNBC were created in 1996.
I would argue that the end of the fairness doctrine and the rise of punditry and opinion commentary has led us into the place we are today. That is, where each party or 'team', is enclosed in their comfy bubble (Fox, MSNBC) where they get constant reinforcement of their already held views, thereby giving them confirmation bias. I could go on and on about this but the philosophical term for this is 'epistemic closure' and it's a crucial problem in our society. The point is, St. Anselm IOP adds fuel to the fire of this crisis.
Comments
Post a Comment