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MPR News with Angela Davis
Catharine Richert and Maja Beckstrom

Talking Sense: How does news media contribute to political polarization?  

Coming up at 9 a.m. Thursday

Four images show media logos for four companies.
Can where you get your news make you more likely to distrust or stereotype people who disagree with you (or your politics)?
Images from Getty Images

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Media is supposed to inform the public. But sometimes, it can make it harder for people to understand and trust each other.

Almost three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is contributing to political polarization, according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

Forty-five percent of surveyed adults said they had little confidence that the news media could report news accurately and fairly.

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks with guests about how some news platforms make political polarization worse and what news outlets can do to address it.

And we want to hear from you, too.  

How do you see the media contributing to polarization? What are examples of news media that misinforms, fuels mistrust or reinforces stereotypes? And how can the media reduce polarization and help you understand different perspectives?  

Call 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour.

Guests:

  • Diana Mutz is the Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also directs the Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics. She’s the author of “In-Your-Face Politics: The Consequences of Uncivil Media” published in 2015.  

  • Will Kaback is an editor at Tangle News, a subscriber-supported, non-partisan political newsletter. It summarizes arguments from the right and the left on a single issue in the news each day. It was founded in 2019 and is sent to about 300,000 readers each day.  

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.