Suggested Readings:

Gallups’s Research: Americans’ Trust in Mass Media

Frankfurt, Harry G. 2005. On Bullshit. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Censorship

Key Concepts

This lecture’s goal is to establish a conceptual foundation.

You will regularly read and hear in the course’s learning units a series of terms that are commonly used – and thus, their meaning may have become vague or ambiguous.

In this lecture we will try to accurately define them. So, when you find those concepts in this course, you should have a clear idea of what they mean.

NEWS is, of course, the first of those concepts that must be defined. This term origins in – and practically belongs to – the realm of journalism. News can be defined as

“timely and relevant information about recent events or developments, presented through various media channels such as newspapers, television, radio, online platforms, and more. It encompasses a wide range of topics, including politics, economics, social issues, science, technology, culture, sports, and entertainment”.

The term Information seems to be essential to determine what news is. Still, there are other concepts that are related and frequently used synonymously: Data, Information, Knowledge

Data: The term data refers to raw, unorganized facts or symbols that represent quantities, measurements, or descriptions.

Information: Information is processed and organized data that has been given context and meaning.

Knowledge: Knowledge involves understanding. Information only becomes knowledge when it has been understood and assimilated by the subject/individual. 

Frequently, when reading or watching news, we see intertwined inferences and opinions.

Inference: A inference is a logical – or apparently logical – deduction or conclusion drawn from factual – or again apparent – evidence, facts or observations.

Opinion: Opinions are judgements about something or someone. This judgement may – or may not – be based on reliable information and or solid knowledge. Opinions necessarily reflec the individual subjectivity

News stories normally report events. 

An event is simply a specific occurrence that can be identified and described.

In the learning unit dedicated to study the mass media effects, we will study in depth the concept introduced by historian Daniel Boorstin of “Pseudo-Event”. Pseudo-events are those events that have been synthetically created and staged with the main and only purpose of being reported in and reproduced by mass media as news. Examples of pseudo-events are press conferences, personal appearances, awards ceremonies, electoral debates, or even the super-bowl. Almost 70% of what is reported in the media is the result of any kind of pseudo-event.

The Role News (Information) in a Democratic Society

The word “Democracy” derivates  from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokratíā), δῆμος (dêmos, “people”)+‎ κράτος (krátos, “power, rule”), which is just this, the government of the people. A sound Democracy implies the active participation of the citizens (directly or indirectly) in the administrations of the affairs that affect the community. The individual is regarded a a rational being who can positively contribute to the government of the whole. In order to act as functional citizen, each individual should have access to accurate, plural and reliable information, which is the key to a meaningful participation in civic life, including voting, engaging in public discourse, and holding elected officials accountable. Information is likewise essential to educate individuals in the functioning of the democratic system, as well as to make them aware of their civic rights and responsibilities.

In contemporary society, mass media are the channel on which the citizenship relies to access the information that would allow them to take rational decisions. Informed citizens contribute to better political decision-making. A well-informed electorate is more likely to make choices aligned with their preferences and values. Information about policy proposals, candidates, and government actions is essential for citizens to make decisions that reflect their interests. Known as the fourth state (or fourth power), media function as “watchdog” of political and economic power. They inform citizens of cases of political corruption or economic abuse.

Thus, mass media must be free from any type of economic, political or ideological influence.

Information Crisis

Three concepts that are achieving an unusual relevance in academic research and the media discourse are related to the current information crisis. I will add a fourth one.

Misinformation,

Disinformation,

Fake News.

Sometimes, the three concepts are used synonymously. Frequently they are related to each other, so that to understand one of them, you must understand the other ones.

Still, there are nuances that are noteworthy.

Misinformation

We talk about misinformation when a state of distorted perception of the reality is created by news media contents. This state of false consciousness caused by the media may not be intentional. There is no explicit intent to do harm or to deceive audiences. 

Disinformation

Disinformation might be – and frequently is – the origin of misinformation. Disinformation is spread with the intention of doing creating that state of false consciousness. Promoting a distorted perception of the reality.

Fake News

Fake News is probably the most simple to explain. If real news items refer directly to real events. Fake news does not have any reference in the real life. Fake news normally does not provide any source that would allow the media consumer check the reliability of the supposed facts.

In other words, fake news stories are lies. 

Bullshit. 

Harry Frankfurt, probably the most important American Philosopher in the 20th century, is the very first thinker who took this concept seriously. The difference between bullshit and lies is that while a lie has a direct relationship with the truth (a lie is the opposite of the truth), the bullshit has no direct relationship with any type of truth. Bullshitters, according to Frankfurt, can care less about whether what they say is true or false. In many cases, the very essence of bullshit makes it impossible to discern whether it is true or false. For this reason, Harry Frankfurt came to the conclusion that bullshit is much more dangerous that lying.

Dimensions of the Problem

It is practically impossible to measure the dimensions of the quality of the information. We do not know the amount of misinformation created by the campaigns of disinformation, the systemic publication of fakes news, or the avalanche of bullshit.

In the learning units dedicated to the media effects, we will learn very well studied phenomena that explain the actual impact of mass media contents on individual and society.

In this article published by the Stanford Institute for Economic and Policy Research (SIEPR), you can find references to some preliminary studies about the actual effects of “fake news” on the political behavior of the audiences.

Censorship

Jean Jacques Rousseau,  (1712-1778), developed in “The Social Contract” the role of the censor.

Censorship is, simply defined, a control “a priori” of the flow of information. The censor studies messages before they are distributed through mass media (print, broadcast, cinema, …) and decides if those message can or cannot be published.

Rousseau come to that conclusion that a censorship is necessary for the well-being of the community.

In his opinion,

“Laws are nothing but authentic acts of the general will (la volonté générale).”

The general will, what we call nowadays public opinion, is the actual source of political power. The quality of a country’s legislation reflects the quality of the citizenship.

Thus, it is necessary, for Rousseau to protect the citizenship from any type of corruption:

“The censorship preserves manners and morals by preventing opinions from growing corrupt, by preserving their rectitude through wise application.”

TRUST

We end this learning unit with a study of the Gallup Research Center on the declining level of trust of the American public on the traditional channels of news.