Civility is something everyone sees but does not necessarily acknowledge in the media, Walter Cronkite School Professor Tim McGuire said Tuesday night.
McGuire’s lecture focused on the media’s impact on civility — or lack thereof — in election coverage as well as the role of the Internet in news media. The lecture was the fourth part of a series held at the Cronkite School called Elections 3.0: Not Your Father’s Elections Anymore.
“It’s like porn — you know it when you see it, but not all of you will define civility in the same way,” McGuire said.
McGuire teaches courses in ethics, diversity and the business of journalism at the Cronkite School. He has also served as the editor and senior vice president of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
He asked the audience of 12 if they thought now was the most politically uncivil time ever. Throughout the informal discussion, most shared their opinions on topics ranging from the upcoming presidential election to Kim Kardashian’s divorce.
Comparing both, McGuire asked how the audience knew what came from a credible source.
“Everyone is a publisher these days,” McGuire said. At the same time, he believes “nobody is a publisher.”
Glenna Shapiro, a retired nonprofit CEO, said she thinks the media plays a big role.
“The media is the only way to get information,” Shapiro said. “We can’t meet and talk to them personally.”
McGuire pointed out that in the 1990s, it wasn’t news until the Star Tribune printed it. He said the Internet blew up concepts of control publications they once had.
“I pull (the news) whenever I want,” McGuire said. “We used to push news to the consumers. Now they pull it from us.”
However, McGuire doesn’t consider Facebook and Twitter a factor in the political races yet, saying TV ads are still the largest form of political advertising.
McGuire used recent debates between presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney to show that some candidates tend to seek out conflicts to gain exposure.
“The ongoing Perry vs. Romney debates are two people yelling at each other, but we aren’t learning how they would handle being president,” McGuire said.
He added that the public controls the civility, because when consumers don’t like something, they let the media know.
“It’s interesting that it starts with the people,” said an attendee. “I think (the media playing a role in civility) is a major issue, but no one knows how to answer it.”
Elections 3.0 was put on by the ASU President’s Community Enrichment Program. Other lectures in the series covered topics such as how social media is changing the election, the science of calling an election and demographic changes and how they can effect a political election.
The PCEP puts on several different programs. Director Sally Moore said the purpose of these programs is to connect event attendees with the university.
The next program in the series will discuss Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics education in K–12 students.
Contact the reporter at melissa.fittro@asu.edu
