Newspapers Should Stay in the Opinion Business - Radio, TV Stations, and Networks, Too - Charlie Warner

AdvertisingPR practitioner Jorg Pierach posted a blog titled quot Newspapers Should Get Out of the Opinion Business quot that got picked up by Romenesko and Jason Hirschhorn39s MediaReDEFined so it got noticed and created some healthy debateHere in part is what Pierach of advertisingPRmarketing firm Fast Horse wroteIf you want my opinion it39s time for newspapers to get out of the opinion businessYes opinion pages are good for civic discourse amp8211 but I believe they39re also bad for business At some point soon forprofit daily newspapers are going to have to choose one or the other The conversation has already started at The New York TimesA column by Executive Editor Bill Keller in last Sunday39s edition laid out plans to make over the Gray Lady39s Sunday opinion section heretofore called Week In Review Starting Sunday wrote Keller the section will be renamed Sunday Review quotthe last vestiges of a weekly summing up replaced by a more general timeliness and that dividing wall breached so that argument which will be labeled Opinion can appear alongside explanation which will be labeled News AnalysisquotI39d argue that39s a step in the wrong directionLater in the post Pierach put forth the heart of his argumentAmidst amp8230 theamp8230 digital cacophony I believe newspapers continue to risk alienating partisan readers who now have the option of turning to other places for news that more closely fits their worldview Huffington Post Drudge etc The business problem for newspapers comes down to increased competition and brandingPierach echoes one Eli Pariser39s main points in his groundbreaking book The Filter Bubbleamp160that America is becoming more polarized in part because of Google39s algorithms which show us only relevant search results which in turn means that we see only what we agree with amp8211 also referred to as confirmation bias So the problem of polarization also described brilliantly in Cass Sunstein39s book Going to Extremes How Like Minds Unite and Divide is increasing because of technology39s push toward relevancy amp8211 giving us what we want and what we agree withBut Fox News MSNBC The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are not turning off partisan viewers and readers by proffering opinions in the form of opinionated talk show hosts and newspapers editorials Opinion is good for their businessThe trend toward polarization that is pushing Americans to extreme positions on the right and the left is certainly no reason for newspapers and other media outlets to stop presenting opinions It is not the editorials and the opinion pieces that are causing the polarization it is the entire spectrum of more sophisticated technology and the instant availability of diverse information and opinion that allows us even motivates us to seek out only those facts information and opinions that agree with our view of the world and our own multiple biasesI can see why someone in advertising or PR would not want newspapers to influence people by editorializing amp8211 give management39s opinion on issues amp8211 because that is the function of advertising and PR practitioners to spin the news and the facts to influence readers and audiences Spinmeisters would prefer bland news to surround their slanted contentBut all media outlets should resist the efforts of PR people to get them to avoid editorializing or expressing multiple opinions Media outlets should create a public dialogue on controversial issues of importance to the community Contrary to Pierach39s assertion that editorializing is bad business editorializing is good for business amp8211 it is differentiating content that gives readers and audiences not only an additional reason to read or view but also it is content that gives credibility to the outlet and establishes a perception of expertise for that outletFurthermore responsible editorializing acts as an important service to a community For example who would know what judges to vote for if the local newspaper didn39t do the research and endorse a slate of candidates Writing editorials isn39t just about spouting opinions it39s also about doing indepth research on issues and candidates that ordinary citizens don39t have the time to doAll media outlets newspapers magazines news websites radio and TV stations and broadcast and cable networks should editorialize and present diverse opinions amp8211 create quotcivic discoursequot as Pierach suggests amp8211 as a vital public serviceWhen the only criteria for making decisions in media outlets is what is good for business amp8211 the bottom line amp8211 and not what39s good for society and the community not only will greed rule but the media will abrogate its public service responsibility and leave influencing and persuading to the spinmeisters which is just what they wantUntil he retired in 2002 Charlie Warner was Vice President of AOL39s Interactive Marketing division Before joining AOL he was the Goldenson Endowed Professor at the Missouri Journalism School where he taught media management and sales and he created and ran the annual Management Seminar for News Executives Charlie can be contacted at charleshwarnergmailcomRead all Charlieamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at The Media CurmudgeonCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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