Opinions, we all have them. Regardless of the topic or situations, we form an opinion often from the opening sentence of a news report. The question remains though, is our initial opinion that we form justified and based on vetted facts or does an underlying bias shape our thoughts?
At the top of the list that influences public opinion in current events ranging from news to political topics is the 24/7 news cycle which saturates the viewers with constant "up to the minute" information. The problem that arises from this approach is that in order to maintain ratings, these agencies such as CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and others do not offer verified facts to their reports but often use opinions of the management, those of the show hosts and quite often, of those in power within business and government. The competition for advertising dollars is fierce and so the ratings game is actually cut throat leaving even innocent people's reputations and lives in the dust as an acceptable casualty of this "news cycle war".
Second on the list is, of course, social media where people often use the platform to express their personal views based on news clips but there again, we have the issue of whether the opinions are fact based, biased or just plain gossip. As it is impossible to be in someone's mind and see what they are thinking, the process of sifting fact from fiction on social media becomes more difficult and at times, not worth the effort to spend time on. While "social" media has many good points to it and can be fun to use, the platform has also been abused by many with jobs lost, reputations ruined and in some cases, especially among younger users, suicides after cyber bullying.
There is no doubt that our country is sharply divided on many fronts and up until recently, the dividing line has been Conservative vs Liberals on the political front. However, the country has been turned upside down since August when a black 18 year old male was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, MO. The subsequent Grand Jury proceeding did not return an indictment against Officer Darren Wilson which set off even more protests, riots and demonstrations across the country which seems to have awakened the once vicious racial divide we saw 50 plus years ago.
In early December, a New York Grand Jury decided not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Panteleo in the death of Eric Garner, an African American man who was suspected of selling "loosies" or individual cigarettes from packs without tax stamps. The incident was captured on video and many argue that Garner was choked by the Officer while others defend the actions of the police. However, the real end result was even more protests and demonstrations across the country about police brutality.
To make matters even worse, five days before Christmas, two NYPD officers were assassinated by a crazed gunman who first shot his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore and then shot himself after killing the two officers. While the public, even many who were demonstrating against police brutality, sympathized with the officers and police in general, the tension became even stronger in regard to the racial issues but also added fuel to the fire between the rank and file NYPD and the Mayor of New York City whom officers claim support anti-police demonstrators.
Turn on your television set to any cable news channel or log into a social media platform and you will instantly be flooded with articles, opinions, videos, accusations, memes and the like on this issue as well as the everyday issues of politics. What you are witnessing is known as the "CNN Effect", a theory that suggests the media has a strong impact on policy decision making in government and also public opinion. Scholars and many experienced media executives agree that the CNN effect also is a strong impediment on achieving desired policy goals and forces policy makers to take an immediate stand on a topic without the chance for reflection or research.
Unfortunately, the days of old school journalism are gone, back when reporters had to pound pavement tracking down sources and also spending countless hours, days or weeks verifying the information they culled. The public's "need to know right now" has changed what was once a respected and reliable profession into one of speculation, rumor and a battle for ratings at any cost.
Also unfortunate is the days where people sat down and discussed current affairs civilly are gone. We have created an "us vs them" atmosphere where if you speak out, you are viciously and mercilessly attacked. With this environment, will be ever see the day when we are no longer so sharply divided or will the tension only continue to get worse with a predictable result?
