MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS STILL WHERE ALBERTANS TURN FOR POLITICAL NEWS
Trolls and other life forms on social media have declared traditional media dead for so long we’ve almost started to believe it.
But it’s not true. According to independent pollster Janet Brown, newspapers and TV absolutely crush social media as sources of political news for Albertans.
The main use of tools like Twitter and Facebook, Brown says, is to act as a funnel to news in mainstream media like the Herald, Sun and Metro, or TV news on CBC, CTV and Global.
Twitter is a source of news for only four per cent of Albertans polled. Facebook is mentioned by a modest 15 per cent. TV gets 65 per cent of mentions, and newspapers are nearly that high when results for both print and online editions are tallied.
The second most popular single news source, at 36 per cent, is the humble printed newspaper.
Papers top blogs, Facebook, Twitter, online-only news sources and other social media. The breakfast-table paper is still hugely influential as a political news source.
Brown did her fascinating survey after picking up some polling hints “about how low interest was in political information from social media.”
This led her to run a poll whose results she sometimes presents to clients. She passed them on to me. One of Brown’s most interesting findings is that Twitter and Facebook can be full of rants about some subject without having the slightest impact on public opinion.
The polls start to move only when stories appear in mainstream media, she says.
Brown tells clients, “if you think you can win the next election through social media, if you think you’re making a difference with social media, think again.
“In order for me to see the numbers change in my polling, things need to be in the mainstream media.”
Some stories are sparked by online writers and Twitter diggers like Dave Cournoyer, an extraordinarily well-informed progressive blogger, or Twitter maven Kathleen Smith, who puts out such a breathless torrent of gossip, rumour and opinion that she’s bound to hit a long ball now and then.
But the majority of stories still come from the mainstream. Sometimes, ironically, they get sucked into social media and recast as more proof that we don’t do our job.
Mainstream journos routinely use Twitter as a portal to their own work; I do that every day.
But some of us are shying away from the geysers of abuse and hatred. They aren’t worth reading just because somebody might spit up a nugget of news.
Brown reflects a growing consensus when she says “social media has become an echo chamber where few minds are changed and falsehoods and negativity fester.”
Most people surveyed “find political posts to be stressful and frustrating.” She cautions that “strident supporters of a cause can potentially do more harm than good for their cause.” Her main conclusions: “Social media is not an important source of information on Alberta politics,” and, “a minuscule proportion of the population participates in political discussion on social media. They tend to be hyper partisans.”
Social media have many wider uses, obviously. They connect families and friends, give afflicted people a voice, enable whistleblowing on a grand scale, and spin off brilliant satire after fiascos like the passenger being dragged off a United Airlines plane.
Mount Royal University academic David Taras, an international expert on journalism and social media, points out that nothing could match the impact of the Fort McMurray wildfire Facebook page, which pulled thousands of people together in a massive co-operative battle. “There are social media moments that are unmatched,” he says.
But those same forces often poison debate in the arenas of politics and hot-button cultural issues. Syrian refugees are accused of whipping Canadian kids. Coun. Druh Farrell is assailed by Twitter critics who may be paid to do it. On it goes, every day.
Even Twitter co-founder Evan Williams concedes that his creation is a destructive wreck.
He apologizes for making Donald Trump possible.
One mistake the mainstream media have made, it seems to me, is to inflate nihilistic voices by paying too much attention. We’ve also taken the reports of our own death much too seriously.
Most regular people pay no attention at all, thank heavens. They have more sense.