We’ll see partisan media more clearly

In the middle of the 20th century, a certain model of professional journalism reached peak levels of influence in the U.S. This model promised objectivity and non-partisanship, unlike most American journalism that had preceded it. For a few decades, then, the partisan press and the many quandaries partisan journalism had long posed for democracy appeared to lose relevance.

Today, however, that moment has passed. In today’s media landscape, the economic incentives and technological constraints that undergirded the era of professional news hegemony no longer hold. Political norms and public attitudes toward claims of detached neutrality have also changed.

It’s not certain what new informational order will prevail, but it is clear that partisan journalism is, once again, playing a larger role in American political culture. For over a decade, heated discussions of “innovation” in journalism have seemed open to all sorts of digital upheaval. But in these conversations, the growth of news embracing partisan ways of seeing the world has been largely ignored or thought to be contained solely to the right. Approaching this as a problem of the right, critics have too often focused only on concerns about disinformation rather than grappling with partisan news as a model competing for popular legitimacy.

I think we’re near a breaking point where media critics, journalists, foundation funders, policymakers, and scholars can no longer assume partisan journalism occupies a marginal part of the news sphere. As partisan journalism becomes more central to U.S. political life, I want to make three claims about this process that hover between hopes and hopeful predictions.

First, I think we are poised to see progressives start investing significantly more in partisan media aimed at reaching popular audiences. For decades, the right has been building a media infrastructure — from talk radio to Fox News to YouTube stars — pitched to groups well beyond conservative elites. While the left and center-left too have a vibrant partisan sphere — think Democracy Now, New York Review of Books, Jacobin — their resources are more focused on a highly educated and ideologically committed base.

The right’s advantage here should not be reduced to a vector for disinformation. The right uses its media resources to draw in new audiences through appeals to popular tastes and longings; then, these media offer interpretations of events that fit facts and events into the right’s preferred master narratives. Recognizing a growing diploma divide estranging college-educated progressives from people without college degrees, more progressives are urging investments in popular media as key to building a broad left-leaning coalition. Here we are starting to see a populist left commentariat growing online and momentum among progressive media ventures such as Courier Newsroom, Accelerate Change, and the Latino Media Network.

Second, as partisan media becomes more central to politics, we will need to think about it with more nuance, seeing it as more than a menacing rival to professional journalism. There are various norms and features partisan media might adopt. Partisan outlets could value factual accuracy and good-faith engagement with opposing perspectives. Of course, many do not. Still, institutions have a role to play in setting the stage for what kinds of partisan media thrive. Consider just a handful of the key actors: Social media platforms must set policies affecting what variants of partisan media will enjoy greatest amplification. Journalism schools must decide whether and how to integrate partisan journalism into their curricula. Professional associations must decide whether to elaborate ethical guidelines for partisan journalists. Policymakers proposing support for local journalism must decide what conditions need to be met.

Lastly, a more influential partisan media doesn’t need to spell the decline of non-partisan journalism. Professional journalists are grappling with a number of crises, including a financial crisis, abysmal levels of reported trust among conservatives and independents, and a surging debate over whether objectivity or something similar should remain a cardinal value.

Facing the growth of partisan media head-on might help with these latter two crises. In our current media sphere, there are basically two competitors for popular news audiences: right-wing media and mainstream outlets. In this situation, mainstream media easily becomes the stand-in for the left in the eyes of many. That elision will be harder to make if there is an actual left media vying for popular attention. A more mature partisan news sphere might give nonpartisan, professional journalists a renewed clarity about the challenges they face. They must offer a compelling public story about why they should be trusted and what they add that partisan voices do not.

Aspiring to objectivity is not the only option. But professional journalists need to compete against voices that draw on partisan and ideological affinity to claim their authority to tell the truth about public life. In a society in which the majority of the population are not strong partisans, there should be plenty of other opportunities for grounding this claim.