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Changes to the overall media landscape have drastically altered the way journalism functions in American democracy creating competing sets of facts for different voters.

During a panel discussion Monday, March 22, on the fallout of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, national journalists Lisa Desjardins and Astead Herndon spoke with Grand Valley State University President Philomena Mantella and three former GVSU presidents on how journalism can function in the current political landscape.

Desjardins, who covers Congress for "PBS Newshour," said the rise of "splintered media," or cable news programs amplifying a certain political perspective over others has played a role in stoking divisions.

Givingcredence to inaccurate or skewed viewpoints did, in many cases, boost ratings and audiences, but the tradeoff was a lesser-informed viewership, or one that had been deliberately been given misleading or false information.

Cable news has probably added the most fuel to the fire in the media world," Desjardins said."Not to blame it all on cable news across the spectrum, different outlets gaining ratings either (by) attacking or defending.

"You can debate why that was, and whether that was valuable or not valuable, but one of the outcomes of that was that Americans started picking news outlets like they were picking teams, and became very incensed about that.

During the insurrection, supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to storm Congress to overturn election results. As a candidate and as president, Donald Trump often attacked media outlets which didn't provide favorable coverage. Rioters were recorded smashing cameras and media equipment, yelling obscenities at CNN and Associated Press journalists.

Herndon, who covers politics for The New York Times, said the events of Jan. 6 were a culmination of a group of people who had in their own media sphere been inaccurately told that the 2020 election was fraudulent. These "different sets of realities" among voters can make it difficult for traditional journalists to operate.

If that is the starting point, its hard for us to have the functioning democracy we say we do," Herndon said.

Herndon said to mend some of the distrust in media, journalists have to be transparent about their reporting process. Desjardins added including more diverse voices to reporting will ultimately help readers understand what they are reading and viewing.

Weve missed a lot, weve had blinders on," she said, of the sources traditional media typically interacts with.

In addition to the discussion on the capitol insurrection, Herndon and Desjardins also fielded questions from audience members on source building in journalism, election reforms and news literacy.

The discussion was the second in a series coordinated by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies to examine the fallout from the insurrection. In addition to Mantella, former GVSU presidents Arend "Don" Lubbers, Mark Murray and Thomas Haas joined the panel.

The full recording can be viewed on the Hauenstein Center's YouTube page.

Contact reporter Arpan Lobo at alobo@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.

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What is the media's role in democracy? GVSU roundtable explores premise in insurrection's aftermath - HollandSentinel.com