Pepp community voices opinions about today’s news media, PGM BETH GONZALES | ASSISTANT LIFE & ARTS EDITOR
Pepperdine Graphic Media contributes to media at large by providing news for an entire collegiate community and the surrounding area. PGM is a media outlet for students who have consumed an array of news for most of their lives. While the way news is delivered continues to change and social media advances, sources speak about the criticism and hope for the future they see regarding news media. The Pepperdine community shared their opinions regarding news credibility, PGM and how they think media will and should change. According to Gallup, 45% of Americans see a great deal of bias in news media, up from 25% in 1989 and a majority cannot name a source that reports news objectively. Sources said they would like to see more diverse sources, credibility and thorough reporting across all news outlets. “If mainstream media ceased to exist, people would find out how important it is, but I wouldn’t want to see the results of that,” Journalism Professor Ken Waters said. Waters said journalism was created to hold the powerful politicians and world leaders accountable. He believes with honest and accurate reporting, this shouldn’t be difficult. “That’s the human dimension, where mainstream media is aware and saying, ‘Yeah, I’m making decisions, and they’re based upon my judgment, and my judgment has bias in it, but I am trying to be as accurate and honest to get as many viewpoints as possible and tell the story without interjecting my opinion into it,’” Waters said. In 2021, when people say “news,” they can mean a lot of different platforms. Sources said while they scroll through their social media platforms, they are overloaded with stories daily, and choosing which is credible can be difficult. Junior Alyssa Rabie said she mainly gets her news through online sources such as The New York Times and social media. When it comes to social media, Rabie said most people will re-post news and she will check the original source of other posts she sees. If the account is verified, she will usually trust it. “I think social media is a really powerful tool to keep people educated these days, especially since our generation doesn’t read newspapers or watch news as much,” Rabie said. People posting on their stories or feeds, Rabie said, helps spread awareness of current issues, especially social justice issues. Rabie said she feels televised news is more generational because her parents and grandparents still prefer it. However, she said she only knows the world she was born into, which is the world of the internet. All sources said they feel news is biased, and they think twice before believing what they are told. They also fact check while they consume their daily news. Bias in the news might be heightened right now, Waters said, because of social media and the contest to produce and publish information. News occurs, and within minutes, stories from various news out-
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The Pepperdine Graphic, If It Bleeds, May 10, 2021
lets are on Twitter. The reporting cannot be done as thoroughly as it should if the race to get content out and make the most money is on the forefront of most publications’ minds. “Change is normal and natural; technology has forced change where people haven’t maybe wanted it,” Waters said. “One thing that technology has done is remove the gatekeeper. In mainstream media, you have your editors who supposedly are better educated and more experienced than the reporters, so they can ask questions and make sure that reporting is done in the most professional way possible.” When it comes to deeming news credible, Waters said it has a lot to do with a publication and whether it has a reputation for being accurate, honest and ethical. This involves giving a voice to all different perspectives and information, which he said can be hard to do. “Some of the ways we do journalism are a problem because then it’s ‘he said, she said,’” Waters said. “And who am I going to put first? Well, I resonate with this person’s viewpoint, so I’ll put their viewpoint first and then I’ll bring in a counter argument down toward the bottom and hope most people don’t even read that.” Theresa de los Santos, communication professor and NewsWaves adviser, said she deems her news credible when it comes from professional, trained journalists who work for reputable, non-partisan news outlets. “Consumers should examine multiple sources in the hope that diverse viewpoints shed greater light on a topic and help them identify misinformation,” de los Santos said. Articles that include a variety of credible sources and provide necessary background information are more trustworthy, Political Science Professor Brian Newman said. “I’m skeptical of stories that seem like I’m getting a single or simplified vantage point on whatever’s being reported, whether it’s because of a reliance on a single source or a thin or non-existent discussion of context,” Newman said. Rabie finds broadcast news on television to be more biased, she said. “I think there’s 100% of bias in modern media,” Rabie said. “People are so divided these days because it’s so easy for you to just read the information that you want and then you think everyone’s reading that.” The world is in a cultural period where
Madeline Duvall | Staff Artist
