Photo by Peggy Bieber-Roberts, Laramie, WY, 2014
Has the media influenced Wyoming voters’ views on issues and candidates by promoting a particular agenda for the public? Wyoming has often been on national and state media over the past several years producing a certain kind of information the legacy and new online Wyoming media have played in shaping public opinion and our world views, locally and globally — in order that we voters are aware of influences that affect our votes. There has been a lot of research on the role of news media setting the agenda for their readers and viewers where those reading and watching the news believe because the information they are receiving is dominant, it is the most acceptable news. For example, agenda-setting research generally points to the power of media to tell us what we think about. But that is not enough. The other side of the coin is whether the same media tell us how to think, in other words which candidates is most acceptable and why. For example, during the 2022 congressional election in Wyoming, the Wyoming and national news media told us how to think about the candidates. Trump basically interfered by sending in his minions to the state during the campagin season, in order to defeat incumbant Congresswoman Liz Cheney. In addtion a significant number of Wyoming news media were being bought by “”investors” from out of state who likely had a hidden agenda to ensure a particular outcome of the election — the defeat of Cheney. This strategy was a first in Wyoming political history, and it won’t be the last until we voters are aware of how it came about.
So let’s talk about why the legacy news media, newspapers, radio, television, and now the online news sites are so powerful in affecting our thoughts and even our voting behavior. This story begins with academic scholars who have carefully analyzed the effects of the news media, over the decades. We begin with agenda-setting effects. The theory holds that the more prominent an issue is presented, the more relevant it is perceived by the public. (Interference in Wyoming’s election came from inside and outside Wyoming where one candidate Liz Cheney was criticized and the other her opponent in the primary Hageman was supported.) What about critical thinking? Have Wyoming residents abdicated that role to the media when they accept unquestionng the dominant media stories and political positions on issues and candidates?
Research has found that on an affective level, repeated exposure to a candidate may increase or shift an attitude in support of them. Further, biased reporting favoring a position may cause an individual to favor the same position. Media may affect an individual’s view of the political landscape by suggesting a significant majority exists that supports a particular issue or candidate. This was clearly the case in the 2022 Wyoming Republican primary. Pay close attention here. It may have caused Republican voters who felt they were in the minority to either not vote at all, or to not speak out on opposing views. A spiral of silence exists in Wyoming. The constant refrain, through news reporting and public opinion polls, that a dominant political position exists implies it is immovable, thus intimidates the voters. Looking back to the election, it is not easy to definitively determine whether the media has mobilized voters or influenced the way Wyomingites evaluate and think about issues and candidates. But it is our civic duty to learn and to hold the media accountable for their actions affecting the Wyoming public. Simply, because if the media have purposefully influenced public opinion to obtain a certain outcome (propaganda), media owners and journalists pose a serious challenge to democracy.
Our first step is to find out who owns the news media in Wyoming — newspapers, radio and television as well as who owns the online news media. We must determine their political orientation. Of concern is how they present the news and information about elections in Wyoming. Finally, we should be able to extrapolate if and how their offerings affect voters’ thinking and behavior, meaning us Wyomingites. Now is the time to examine the conduct of the Wyoming media, before more fall to outsiders. A question we can ask is: Which has greater effect on the public — Wyoming media or Fox News beamed into every household? As a goal, we Wyomingites should work to find a way to urge the Wyoming media back to the days when media served the public fairly, truthfully, and without propagandistic and hidden agendas. It begins with us paying close attention to the media.
