How the two sides practice may distort the news
The issue of the two-sided rule in news coverage is more serious than one might think. The supposed concern not to privilege one side in any divergence of opinions or perceptions, ended up leading the press and journalism to a serious distortion in the treatment of the news.
The dichotomous approach to reality, in addition to erroneously simplifying the debate of complex issues, served to institutionalize in the press the tendency to provoke conflict between the two sides, in order to capture the public’s attention. The culture of confrontation, materialized mainly in TV debate programs, reinforces the idea that there will always be a winner and a loser. This preoccupation with the press ended up infecting journalism professionals and the public itself, whose behaviour and expectations became conditioned by the competitive character conferred on the news.
Complex issues such as the environmental crisis or the problem of socioeconomic inequality are treated by the press in such a way as to induce the public to think that the final solution, seen as a winner, annuls the other, considered defeated. The nature of the debate as an instrument of public enlightenment ends up adulterated because confrontation is sought instead of consensus or evolution.
The confrontational concern in seeking an audience for news is a disservice that the press renders to the increase of social capital in communities because it inhibits the production of new knowledge. All contemporary theories on innovation highlight the need for recombination or remixing of information as a mandatory step for the development of knowledge. It is the process by which old and new intertwine, ensuring the evolution of science, economy, culture and social relations.
This process takes on even greater importance when one knows that scientific and economic progress in the digital age depends on continuous innovation processes, driven by the production of new knowledge. But for the recombination of information, communication is mandatory and a field where the press and journalism occupy a unique and irreplaceable position. Hence the anachronistic and retrograde character of the journalistic concern to see who won and who lost, instead of prioritizing what each side contributed to an innovation.
