Thursday, November 28, 2013

Non-Partisan Political Information Is Not Presented Through The Media

By Angela Briggs


In the search for non-partisan political information, a viewer, reader or listener has their work cut out for them. There used to be things called newspapers that would report on both sides of any political issue. They would report facts, which this type of information is composed of. They do not do this, largely, as they have taken sides. What is now reported, even on television, radio and over their outlets on the Internet is what their political party wants them to report.

People wanting this down the middle data are being let down. There are more ways to communicate with people every day, however, it is the source of this data that is the problem. Readers of the dominant media believe they are getting the information they think they need and are, for that reason, not being prepared for what is happening all around them.

One of the things that is so frustrating to everyone interested in receiving good data is the tendency of politicians to engage in bumper sticker politicking. The talking heads and politicians believe they have to weight what they want with what the listeners want. This is rarely the same thing, so a bit of double talk is necessary.

Health care talking points would be a good example of this unbalanced data. Reciting facts that would stand up to any scrutiny is not what is in their best interests. Instead of the listing of numbers dealing with how many people are satisfied with their insurance, we get the very partisan explaining that we do not know what we are talking about. This misguided information would have us believe that, because of 30 million people, we need to change the health care insurance industry for 317 million people.

When all of the content presented is emotional it is a good indicator of partisan rhetoric. Take the example of gun control. The assertion that any gun held by any legal resident means just one more dangerous gun that is on the streets is an emotional appeal. It says nothing about what should actually be done because it would cause these proponents to deal with mental health issues, not law abiding citizens.

One of the places where you think you would be able to find truly factual subject matter should be a debate between the sides. You might think that if you hear one side and then the other side it would balance out. This is not the case either because one side does not wish to appear to be mad at the other side. The other side does not wish you to know what they really think.

When looking for some of the websites that promise middle of the road coverage over all things political, analyze them carefully. Looking for the emotional content or the outright advertising that is usually present will indicate where they fall on each issue. There are some who are much better than others, but true fact based information is extremely hard to locate.

The need for true non-partisan political information should be apparent to all. Many politicians, newspapers, news shows and websites can not do this because it would work against their premises. The emotional baggage as well as the inability to actually debate the issues is a good indicator you do not have this.




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