Improving media capacity: Media must focus on policy not just politics

[Commentary] The problem with political reporting today isn’t only the communications revolution represented by the Internet and social media. The problem, at least in part, has its roots in Theodore H. White’s classic book “The Making of a President 1960.” White wrote so elegantly about the inner game of presidential politics, the tactics and maneuvering behind the scenes, that coming generations of political reporters have attempted to emulate White -- in real time. White’s books on presidential campaigns (he wrote four of them) have led to coverage that is dominated by analysis of political tactics at the expense of an examination of the more fundamental issues in a campaign. Too often the news media will note a new position by a candidate and then go on to explain the political motivation for the position but not discuss the substance of the proposal. Most political reporters are experts in the machinations of politics not the nuances of policy.

The reality of the Internet is that voters can find the information they need to make informed voting decisions¸ but it takes effort and a willingness to be open to information that might contradict already held beliefs. However, a news literacy course can only be part of that effort. The challenge remains for the news media to make voters aware that there is fact-based information available to them. As an ever-expanding election cycle goes in full motion the challenge for the news media is to provide fact based information to voters including, but not dominated by political tactics, and for voters to take advantage of the unprecedented availability of that fact based information.

[James Klurfeld is a visiting professor of Journalism at Stony Brook University]