NEWS AND OPINION:
The uneasy relationship between Americans and their news media continues. A massive new survey of 10,300 people reveals that 6-out-of-10 U.S. adults agree that news organizations don’t understand “people like me.” The sentiment extends through multiple demographics. Like a troubled personal relationship, it’s complicated. The reasons behind this rift between the people and their press differ according to political beliefs, religion, income, race, sex and age according to the survey, which was conducted by Pew Research Center in conjunction withe the Knight Foundation.
It is of note that almost half of Republicans and White evangelicals — 46% and 47%, respectively — say the media does not understand them, and these findings represent the strongest sentiments in the entire poll.
“While no one reason dominates when looking at all Americans, sizable gaps exist between racial and ethnic groups in why they feel misunderstood,” write analysts Jeffrey Gottfried and Michael Barthel. Roughly similar portions of Black (58%), Hispanic (55%) and White Americans (61%) say the news media misunderstand them, but the groups cite markedly different reasons.
“Black Americans are far more likely than the other two groups to feel that the misunderstanding is based on their race or some other demographic trait. Among black adults who think the news media do not understand people like them, about a third (34%) say the main way they are misunderstood is their personal characteristics. This is far higher than the 10% of white adults and 17% of Hispanic adults who say the same.”
White Americans, according to the analysis, are far more likely than the other groups to say the problem stems from political misunderstandings. Of White adults who say news organizations misunderstand them, nearly 4-in-10 (39%) say it’s mostly based on their political views. About a quarter of Hispanic Americans say the same, and both groups are higher than Black Americans (15%).
See more in the Poll du Jour at column’s end.
DOWNSIZING THE DEMOCRATS
Some revised planning of note: the Democratic Party has opted to move its upcoming national convention in Milwaukee from the Fiserv Forum to the smaller Wisconsin Center. Large scale welcome-style events have been nixed, and the audience slimmed down.
“Convention organizers have determined state delegations should not plan to travel to Milwaukee and should plan to conduct their official convention business remotely. A process is being developed to ensure all delegates can cast their votes on all convention matters, including the presidential nomination, remotely during the convention,” the Democratic Party said in a statement.
There will be plenty of distractions, though. The party has also hired Ricky Kirshner to coordinate the nomination itself; he is the executive producer of both the Tony Awards and the annual Super Bowl halftime show.
“Programming would include both live broadcasts and curated content,” the Democrats say.
Less people, curated content? So what does it all mean?
“The move to limit the convention also plays into the Biden campaign’s plans to hide their candidate until the election. There will be few, if any, big Biden rallies during the campaign. That, too, is deliberate. The campaign feels the less opportunity Biden is given to make a fool of himself, the better,” observes Rick Moran, a Chicago-based editor for PJ Media.
UNDER THE RADAR
The Cut Red Tape Coalition — deemed a “powerhouse coalition of advocacy groups” — is quietly at work in the nation’s capital seeking to enhance President Trump’s policies of economic deregulation.
The coalition membership includes Club for Growth, Competitive Enterprise Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council, FreedomWorks, Job Creators Network, Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party Patriots. All support fiscal sensibility, deregulation and free markets, among other things.
“The next goal for the coalition is pushing for congressional action. While Trump has done all the right things, Congress needs to step in and give the administration authority to cut more,” Jessica Anderson — executive director of Heritage Action for America — tells Mark Tapscott, congressional correspondent to The Epoch Times, an independent news organization.
“The tactics for how you move conservative, free-market reforms through a divided Congress are not new,” Ms. Anderson noted.
The coalition itself is “piling Up deregulation wins while flying under Washington’s political radar,” Mr. Tapscott says.
CHEERFUL PROGRAMMING OF NOTE
Fox News will broadcast a one-hour special at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday titled “What Made America Great,” hosted by Brian Kilmeade. Now isn’t that refreshing? It includes an exclusive room-by-room tour of the White House with focus on history and tradition. The one-hour program also includes an interview with President Trump, conducted in the Oval Office.
“The conversation will focus on the president’s perspective of the history behind the White House and the legacy of the residence,” the network says.
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
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POLL DU JOUR
• 59% of U.S. adults say the news media “does not understand people like them.”
• 34% of that group cite their personal political beliefs as a reason for the misunderstanding.
• 30% cite their social and economic class.
• 18% cite their personal interests.
• 16% cite their personal characteristics.
Source: A Pew Research Center survey of 10,300 U.S. adults conducted Feb. 18-March 2 and released Thursday.
Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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