Following up on last week’s post (about the need for the media to focus on issues and policy first, and political implications second), it occurred to me that one of the reasons this is unlikely to happen is because most journalists do not understand public policy very well. The reality is that policy is complicated and requires some level of training and/or experience to understand, and most journalists lack these qualifications.
I don’t have statistics, but a cursory examination of op-ed writers and journalists in the major newspapers indicates a dearth of individuals with degrees in economics or public policy. This is not to say that those without such degrees are by definition unqualified; nonetheless, the amount of misinformation, mistakes, and poor reasoning exhibited routinely in the traditional media severely undermines the accuracy of the reporting (Dean Baker’s “Beat the Press” blog is a great source that identifies the many errors commonly made in the traditional media about the most important domestic issues).
In addition to loads of misinformation, much reporting and commentary exhibits a profound ignorance of the power and interest group dynamics that lurk behind the daily pronouncements on policy and economic matters coming from various quarters. For instance, a common meme floating around lately claims that the reason new hires are slow is because businesses are concerned about regulatory uncertainty and tax increases; this has been promoted mainly by conservative economists and the Chamber of Commerce. Few reporters ever note that businesses want nothing more than less regulation and lower taxes, and that it is in their interest to try to convince policymakers and the public that this is what is needed to get greater economic growth (regardless of whether it’s true).
Similarly, many media personalities lack the knowledge to challenge politicians on TV when they make outrageous claims about tax cuts leading to increases in government revenue, or that the stimulus bill didn’t create jobs. In a media culture where image and personality are valued over knowledge, we are left with news outlets unequipped to challenge propaganda and spin.
There are of course notable exceptions, such as Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, who writes for the New York Times (and has to spend much of his time debunking pieces by other, uninformed Times writers, e.g., David Brooks), but these are few and far between.
Of course writing and reporting skills and crucial, but the media discourse would improve markedly if more people who had studied policy held top jobs, especially those who could explain complex issues in ways that ordinary citizens could comprehend. It’s too much to ask average Americans to understand the details of the tax code or health insurance economics, but not too much to ask those charged with informing the public to actually have the requisite training to do so.
This is another instance where the anti-intellectual and anti-elitist mindset in America is harming the country; experts should be sought out, not ignored, especially when it comes to the news.
Jason Scorse