EPISODE NOTES

This is the second episode in Beyond Polarization, a special series about what polarization is costing Americans, and what we can actually do about it. You can find Episode 1, where we analyze research on polarization and disagreement, here.

In this episode: how the news media can do less to reinforce polarized narratives, and more to meet the needs of audiences.

Journalism is an essential component of our democratic system. But when it comes to politics, how much reporting do you read that actually helps you decide who to vote for?

During an election cycle, candidates tell the press that if elected, they’ll work to solve problems that matter to their voters. Those with more controversial opinions or spicy personal backgrounds get more airtime. And pundits prognosticate about which candidate can win which demographic. 

Yet between elections, there’s a lot less coverage of how office holders are fulfilling their campaign promises, or trying to. News organizations cover corruption and scandal, an important role of journalism. But what about when things go right?  

Without good information about solutions to society’s problems, it’s easier to vote based on fear of the other side, vote along party lines, or just stay home. Outside of politics, everyday news coverage skews negative too.

Our guests this episode are journalists committed to reporting on communities and current events in de-polarizing ways. They do that by focusing on what people need and want and how politics could affect that: covering the stakes, not the odds. 

Tina Rosenberg is a Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter and cofounder of the Solutions Journalism Network, which promotes rigorous reporting on solutions to social problems. At the New York Times, she wrote the Fixes column with David Bornstein.

Sarah Jane Weaver is the editor-in-chief of the Deseret News based in Salt Lake City, Utah – one of the first outlets to embrace the Solutions Journalism model in the 2010s. Weaver first joined Deseret as a reporter in 1995. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

“The Perception Gap: How False Impressions are Pulling Americans Apart,” report from More in Common

Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Trend Low, 2024 Gallup poll

Outlier Media, local news outlet in Detroit that provides information on housing, utilities and other essential information via text

Sisters fight to pick up the pieces after catastrophic car crash, reporting by the Deseret News

Small-town America is arguing over whether to welcome Syria’s refugees or fear them, story by The World from PRX