Commentary

TV/Media News Viewers Want More Facts, Less Interpretation

Imagine the next TV news network model without industry observers, analysts and pundits to dissect the news.

Maybe they won’t have anyone speak to you at all. Maybe just on-screen charts with some nice Zen background music.

That’s because a new Pew Research poll says viewers just want “facts” -- 60% of U.S. adults want the news media to present the fact without interpretation; 71% for Trump supporters; 50% for Clinton supporters.

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So here’s a fact: President-elect Trump doesn’t think the current administration did enough to get rid of illegal immigrants. Yet in eight years, President Obama deported 2.5 million people more than any other president -- ever --  according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Ah, but maybe you don’t believe those guys, that particular source? So you may want other facts, other sources, other interpretations of those governmental agency facts.

Even if you believe that Pew poll, you need to see other facts: Fox News Channel, CNN, and MSNBC had virtually record viewership this year given the election. The heightened TV political news content, heavily opinionated, was what TV viewers supposedly rejected because of too much interpretation!

All that means news viewers need to work harder -- and take some of the emotion out. They need their own context. The result? Maybe fewer TV viewers will be living in those TV network “echo” chambers, the ones that give them the facts -- and opinions -- they already believe in.

Even in relatively straight-ahead news stories, journalists work to supply context of those facts -- not interpretation.

Yes, many polls didn’t completely get it right this election. That’s a fact. (Here's another: Clinton did win the popular vote, by 1.7 million votes, per USA Today, at current count.)

Now, for all that is blamed on traditional media for news content interpretation, how much blame points to social-media content -- stuff that has virtually little “factual” value combined with out-of-control opinion?

Guess it all makes sense then that President-elect Trump had a meeting with the bigwigs of traditional TV networks -- network executives and on-air anchors. Supposedly,. Trump ripped into everyone. For what? Facts -- or opinions

For sure, the President-elect had an opinion. But offering facts during the election? That continues to be open to interpretation.

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