- IN THIS WEEK'S CLOSER LOOK, WISCONSIN'S POLITICAL DIVIDES.
EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK, PAN
POLITICS PERMEATE TALK RADIO, MEDIA AND ADVERTISING.
NEW RESEARCH IS UNDERWAY TO INVESTIGATE HOW WE GOT HERE.
RESEARCH JUST AWARDED A MAJOR GRANT FROM THE WISCONSIN ALUMNI
RESEARCH FOUNDATION.
THIS WEEK, LEW FRIEDLAND, A PROFESSOR IN THE SCHOOL OF
JOURNALISM IS HERE TO EXPLAIN WHY WE MIGHT BE HEADED FOR A
DEMOCRATIC CRISIS.
LEW, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
SO HOW COULD THE POLARIZATION OF WISCONSIN MEDIA RESULT IN A
DEMOCRATIC CRISIS?
- WELL, THESE DAYS PEOPLE LIVE IN THEIR MEDIA ENVIRONMENTS AND
I THINK MANY OF US KNOW THAT, WE REALIZE IT.
WE ARE ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, ALL KINDS OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE'RE BOMBARDED BY MEDIA OF ALL SORTS.
AND THAT AFFECTS OUR POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT.
HERE IN WISCONSIN I DON'T THINK IT'S A SECRET THAT WE'VE HAD
CONTENTIOUS POLITICS OVER THE LAST AT LEAST EIGHT YEARS OR SO
AND WE BELIEVE THAT MEDIA HAS PROBABLY PLAYED A LARGE ROLE IN
THAT CONTENTION AND WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER IT HAS AND
HOW IT HAS.
- WHAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF KIND OF THE POLARIZATION AND
FRAGMENTATION IN THE MEDIA THAT WE DIGEST HERE IN WISCONSIN?
- WELL, ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING EXAMPLES IN
WISCONSIN IS THAT WE HAVE A UNIQUE ECOLOGY IN THIS STATE
BECAUSE OUR NEWSPAPERS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT STILL IN THIS
STATE, BUT THEY ARE SHRINKING, AS THEY ARE ELSEWHERE.
NEWSPAPERS ARE THE FOUNTAIN OF MOST LOCAL NEWS AND INFORMATION.
SO WHEN NEWSPAPERS SHRINK, STATE HOUSE REPORTING SHRINKS.
WE'VE SEEN A STEADY DECREASE IN STATE HOUSE REPORTERS.
SO THAT'S LESS INFORMATION GOING OUT TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES, LESS
THAT'S BEING REPORTED ON.
WHAT TAKES THE PLACE OF THAT?
WELL, IT'S PARTY COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
- AND THERE'S ALSO A ROLE FOR, I UNDERSTAND, IN YOUR
INVESTIGATION KIND OF CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO AND HOW
THAT HELPED SHAPE PARTISAN POLITICS.
- ABSOLUTELY.
I MEAN, MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
WAS A MAJOR FORCE IN THIS STATE, WITH A CIRCULATION OF ALMOST
300,000.
WELL, OVER THE LAST DECADE IT SHRUNK TO SOMEWHAT ABOVE
100,000.
SO IT SHRUNK CONSIDERABLY STATEWIDE.
AT THE SAME TIME, TALK RADIO HAS BEGUN TO SATURATE THE STATE, NOT
JUST LOCAL TALK, BUT NATIONAL TALK.
70 HOURS TOTAL OF TALK RADIO PER DAY IN WISCONSIN ACROSS THE
ENTIRE STATE.
OF COURSE, THAT'S FROM ALL SOURCES.
AND THAT CHANGES THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT IN SOME FAIRLY BASIC
WAYS.
- WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF YOUR RESEARCH?
HOW ARE YOU CONDUCTING IT?
- WE ARE -- WE HAVE THREE BASIC LAYERS TO OUR RESEARCH.
WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT WE CALL THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF THE
STATE, THE RANGE OF STATEMENTS OF POLITICAL ACTORS,
POLITICIANS, PRESS RELEASES, THE WAY THAT THEY'VE CONDUCTED THEIR
MEDIA POLITICAL ADVERTISING.
WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT WE CALL THE MEDIA, THE COMMUNICATION
ECOLOGY.
SO HOW HAS TWITTER AFFECTED THE WAY THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND
POLITICS?
THE DECLINE OF NEWSPAPERS, THE RISE IN TALK RADIO.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT A SOCIAL LAYER, HOW DO THE BASIC
DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE STATE, WHERE PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED OR WHERE
THEY'RE NOT EMPLOYED, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THEIR POLITICAL
UNDERSTANDING.
- KIND OF GOING BACK TO THE HEAD OF THIS INTERVIEW, WHY IS
IT IMPORTANT THAT WE MEASURE AND UNDERSTAND THIS OVER SUCH A LONG
PERIOD OF TIME?
- WELL, WE ARE IN A PERIOD OF MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN OUR
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION ECOLOGY, AND IF WE DO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE
A NATION WHICH IS -- IN WHICH POLITICS ARE MORE CONTENTIOUS
THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN QUITE A WHILE, AND I THINK MANY PEOPLE
ON ALL SIDES BELIEVE THAT, THEN UNDERSTANDING OUR COMMUNICATION
ECOLOGY IS A FUNDAMENTAL STARTING POINT TO KNOWING HOW WE
GOT HERE AND POSSIBLY HOW WE CAN BEGIN TO WORK OUR WAY OUT OF IT.
- ALL RIGHT.
WE LEAVE IT THERE.
LEW FRIEDLAND, THANKS VERY MUCH AND GOOD LUCK WITH THE RESEARCH.