When Walter Cronkite anchored the CBS Evening News from 1962 until 1981, he closed with “And that’s the way it is.”
His substantial number of viewers readily accepted that conclusion as he was widely considered to be “the most trusted man in America.”
Fast forward to today. The media world has changed dramatically and changes constantly.
The three legacy national news providers who once had a monopoly on electronic news delivery, now have intense competition from other providers for viewers and for relevance.
These providers include, but are not limited to Fox News, CNN, CNBC, AL Jazeera English, The CW, MSNBC, and Blaze Media. They also include 24-7 podcasts, radio talk shows, blogs, X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, and countless other social media platforms.
Today, almost every American has access to electronic news outlets whose perspectives on the news range from far left, left of center, far right, and right of center. Some of their perspectives (read biases) are subtle, some are thinly disguised, and some are unapologetically obvious.
Some suggest more media is better.
They suggest in an increasingly diverse society, every American is now in a position to follow and support those electronic national news providers whose perspectives on the news most closely matches their own perspectives.
I agree, but only to a point.
I suggest too many electronic national news providers are not committed to providing balanced news, especially balanced political news.
Instead, they provide news in a targeted way that affirms what certain viewers already think.
That strategy generates a durable collection of viewers for that news provider, which in turn helps recruit and retain advertisers.
It does not generate trust.
Two months ago, the Gallup Organization released the results of polling Americans trust in the media. This polling exercise has been done regularly by Gallup for over half a century.
In this most recent report, Gallup noted that over the past three decades, public confidence in the mass media has collapsed.
They also noted Americans’ trust in the mass media is at its lowest point in more than five decades.
Trust levels are down with Republican voters, Democratic voters, and unaffiliated voters. These trust levels are even lower than for Congress, the presidency, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Today, not one national media individual is widely considered as the most trusted news provider in America as was Cronkite.
We are dealing with the consequences of William F. Buckley’s observation that some people claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover there actually are other views.
As a result, these people will not even consider following news from media outlets other than those who present news with a perspective that most closely aligns with their own.
Now more than ever, we owe it to ourselves and to our society to explore and thoughtfully consider other points of view.
At the very least, I suggest if we get follow the news from a right of center or hard right media outlet, we take time to follow the news from a comparable left of center or hard left outlet.
Conversely, I suggest if we follow the news from a left of center or hard left media outlet, we take time to follow get news from a comparable right of center or hard right media outlet.
When we do that, we must give due consideration to other views and then make thoughtful and informed decisions on our current views.
Understanding and respecting other views is different from accepting them fully or in part.
In every case, we can choose to keep our current views, revise them, or replace them.
I further suggest we reject the notion that changing one’s mind is a character flaw and accept the notion that changing one’s mind is actually a character strength.
If or when you do revise or fully reverse your views, expect to be told you are inconsistent.
In any event, be true to yourself and stand firm.
Remember Winston Churchill’s guiding principle when he was told he was inconsistent (a regular occurrence in his long and successful life).
He said, “When I consider facts that challenge my current views, I will change my mind and be inconsistent and right, rather than be consistent and wrong.”
Excellent advice for all of us especially when we live in a VUCA world, a world with high levels of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
In such a world, regularly evaluating views with an open mind that may result in a changed mind, is always better than holding on to views with a closed mind.
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.