Media Matters: 2016 campaign coverage demonstrates the importance of media in politics

In+the+picture+above%2C+U.S.+citizens+vote+at+the+polls+during+the+2012+Presidential+election.+Although+critics+claim+that+the+media+has+not+done+enough+to+educate+voters+throughout+the+2016+campaigning+period%2C+rising+voter+participation+indicates+that+the+mainstream+medias+coverage+could+have+positive+repercussions+to+democracy.

Joe Shlabotnik, Flickr

In the picture above, U.S. citizens vote at the polls during the 2012 Presidential election. Although critics claim that the media has not done enough to educate voters throughout the 2016 campaigning period, rising voter participation indicates that the mainstream media’s coverage could have positive repercussions to democracy.

by Adrian Chu, Reporter and Aquila Columnist

The road to the 2016 Presidential election has been marked by unprecedented levels of shocking rhetoric, unexpected candidates and radical policies. A year ago I would have laughed if I saw a news headline on the Mexican president likening a presidential candidate to Hitler on a news site other than the Onion, but now, this kind of article resembles a fish in a stream of similar comical stories reminiscent of tabloid gossip.

Many people complain about the candidates’ remarks in the 2016 presidential elections. However, personal jabs and scandal has always been a part of the electoral process, but with more flavorful personalities in the race and more controversy, any news focused on the candidates’ agendas has gotten buried under information deemed “non-educational.”

As a result of this rising non-educational content, viewers and news consumers frequently lament the decline of the quality of today’s media.

And yet, while not the exemplary model for political media, the news coverage of the election has been beneficial for the political process by increasing voter turnout and political participation.

For example, the flashy debates between the 2016 Republican candidates have generated to a massive increase in Republican voter participation with voter turnout increases greater than 37% in all Super Tuesday states. The same cannot be said about the less outrageous Democratic debates. In fact, the Democrats saw disappointing levels of voter participation in the primaries with nine out of the eleven Super Tuesday states experiencing voter turnout losses greater than 10%.

Voter participationAdrian Chu

Much of the differences between past primaries and the current Republican primary may be attributed to media coverage. The 2016 Republican candidates have had much more “non-educational” news coverage, or coverage focused on repeated phrases, visceral reactions or name-calling rather than on substantive policy.

Clearly, viewers seem more intrigued by the unusually entertaining debates than by the typical substantive arguments which arise every four years.

Admittedly, a nation in which everyone paid attention to in-depth political news coverage would be optimal, but we cannot expect audiences to pay attention to strictly politically-meaningful content for long. Thus, the trivial political media we see every day is a necessary evil in a democracy with abnormally low voter turnout. Without external stimulus, media coverage and outre claims drive political action. And higher voter turnout is necessary for any democratic state to function properly.

For this reason, the media cannot be blamed for increasing the number of uninformed voters. Only by going through the political process can uninformed voters develop educated political opinions. Although a disproportionate amount of focus has been given to the coverage of non-educational content, many media sources still cover critical political issues. Thus, the catchy tabloid gossip has the potential to coax previously-uninterested citizens into learning more about the politics.

Throughout history, media sources have dictated how individuals view politics. That the media chooses to encourage political participation is a step towards the goal of having an informed politically-active population.