As the House of Representatives approaches a vote on soon-to-be-drafted articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, public opinion on the issue hasn’t changed much since before the public hearings.
So, writes Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan, journalists need to find ways to better reach and persuade the small percentage of people remaining who are open to going either way on impeachment.
“Despite the hardened positions, some members of the public are still uncertain,” Sullivan writes. “Some are persuadable, and yes, it matters. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the job of American journalism in this moment to get serious about trying to reach these citizens.”
Sullivan notably does not take an overt position regarding whether people need to be persuaded for or against impeachment. The closest she comes to that is when she writes, “We do live in a country that abides by laws and a Constitution, and nobody ought to be above them.”
She does suggest, however, that simply laying out the information of the case in a way that gives equal weight to both sides creates a “false equivalency.” – READ MORE