Moderate Media

Every generation in America, and likely all over the world, has had a subset within itself that challenges most aspects of their predecessors’ ideals. In the editorial piece “Seeking Balance in an Either-Or World”, columnist Kathleen Parker argues that today’s voters are less extreme than those in the past were. Parker asserts that there is a growing trend in people’s political opinions toward a more moderate ideal. Also, she claims that the modern public is beginning to look down on the right/left extremists creating a new class of moderates that are “socially liberal and fiscally conservative”.

In a nation where we tend to lump anyone into either Democrat or Republican, a 2005 Pew Poll’s findings paint a much unexpected picture, that 39 percent of voters are classified as independent or, rather, not Republican or Democrat. This comes as a bit of a shock since most of the mass media focuses on the two extremes of the political spectrum. According to popular belief, the Democrats have CNN and MSNBC while the GOP voices itself through Fox News Channel. So where in the media do independent, moderate-thinking voters go for their news and opinion pieces? The Internet.

For the past fifteen years or so, a virtual culture has emerged. The internet exists in anonymity and in cyberspace. Inside, there are countless forums for the expressing of opinions, political or not. It provides places where people of similar political views can learn without the bias that exists in mass media. These sites have become extremely popular with those who cannot find peace-of-mind in popular television news channel.

So when Parker says that today’s new voters are mainly moderate and “fence-straddlers” we can see evidence of this on the Internet, which is at the center of today’s emerging culture. This article states that this group of moderates will be a “powerful reckoning force” and judging from how much publicity the 2008 election is receiving, the Internet culture (moderates) will need much more attention.