Biggest Losers in Healthcare Reform Debates: The News Media

The news media remain the biggest losers in healthcare reform debates.  For the most part, mainstream news sources have not provided much analysis of the actual content of healthcare reform.

Not surprisingly, polls continue to show that people disagree with healthcare reform -- until they actually hear what the legislation contains. In fact, a new poll shows that most people believe that, for Republicans and Democrats alike, reform is simply about political battles, rather than policy. The media must accept some responsibility for public ignorance.

Rather than focusing on the substance of reform, the media have instead reported the political dramas related to reform. This has undoubtedly shaped public opinion about the motivations of members of Congress.  The public knows less about the merits of healthcare reform than it knows about the rantings of the Tea Party protesters, the conflict between moderate and liberal Democrats, the declining favorability ratings of Congress and the President, Sarah Palin's belief that Obama is a socialist, and Rush Limbaugh's promise to leave the country if reform passes.  The media reporting resembles a dressed-up version of the Jerry Springer Show. Well, at least Springer does not pretend to have an interest in anything other than drama. 

Today, the headlines show that the media are now focusing on whether the Republicans or the Democrats will lose more politically from healthcare reform. Numerous stories report the obvious fact that the issue could shape the November elections (yay -- more drama!). Other stories examine Nancy Pelosi's favorability ratings.  Numerous articles report that states are going to sue over healthcare reform  -- without even analyzing the merits of these lawsuits. The legal "battle" is all that matters.  The focus of today's news stories reveal that the authors are in fact the biggest losers of all.

Does the Public Read? Sadly, No. . .

A recent CBS-New York Times poll finds that only 6% of Americans believe that the $787 billion stimulus package actually created new jobs. Of course, the poll, echoing other recent surveys, also indicates deep disapproval of Congress, disapproval of President Obama (much less than Congress, however), and widespread anger about the direction of the country.

The low number of Americans who believe in the effectiveness of the stimulus shows that skepticism does not correlate with party affiliation. A wide cross-section of Americans doubt that the stimulus has created jobs.

The public's deep skepticism regarding the success of the stimulus, however, conflicts with most of the published reports by analysts who have studied the effectiveness of the spending package. According to a New York Times article, prestigious economic research firms such IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s Economy.com estimate that the stimulus package has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs to the economy and that it could ultimately create up to 2.5 million jobs. In addition, the NYT reports that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office "considers these estimates to be conservative."

What Explains the Disconnect?
A number of factors could explain the disconnect between public perception and reality. Although the stimulus has created jobs, unemployment remains very high at 10%. Also, many families are still struggling to pay their expenses.

But these factors, as significant as they are, cannot possibly account for the absolute inaccuracy of public opinion. Unfortunately, I suspect that a lot of the public does not take the time to research issues before forming opinions. Furthermore, while the news media happily report the anger and skepticism of Tea Party participants and other "angry" segments of society, they rarely critically engage the ill-founded claims of these groups.

The blog Outside the Beltway has an even less generous view of voters, contending that:

These sorts of polls are annoying. Most people simply have no basis for making judgments on technical matters like this; indeed, economists can only take a very educated guess. So, asking Joe Public about such matters is not very helpful.

I agree that the public, as the data demonstrate, lacks knowledge about basic facts related to the stimulus. Nevertheless, I believe that the public can and should educate itself on important social issues. At the same time, however, the news media has the solemn responsibility to inform voters rather than simply creating and reporting political division. Both camps have failed miserably in terms of public education.