Walter Cronkite is Dead
And so is trust in the media
By Mark Sump

The new paradigm hinges largely on the theory that broadcast television is no longer the chief source of information on which voters base their voting decisions. The fact is that the people who tune into Fox News are not looking for a fair and balanced discussion. They’re looking for reinforcement of their core beliefs.

I’ll admit it. I watch MSNBC because I generally agree with the views expressed on MSNBC. (Love Rachel!) But, it isn’t where I my vote is shaped.

Cronkite is dead, and people no longer trust as fact what they see on television. Without that trust, TV is no longer the pervasive source of information from which voters make their core voting decisions. So, where are they getting their information? How are votes being shaped?

Twenty-five years ago when I was just out of college, I was sitting with a friend, Amy, bemoaning my life. “What do I want to be when I grow up” as is the common refrain for a twenty-something waiting tables and biding time. Amy asked me what I enjoy. I said I like politics. She said, “Then do that.” Not knowing what she meant I shrugged my shoulders and said “yeah that’s a good idea.” “No,” she said, “pick two campaigns that interest you, call them and volunteer”.

Amy handed me the phone and that’s when my life took one of those proverbial forks in the road. I was living in Kansas City, right on the border between Kansas and Missouri. The first campaign I chose to call was Kit Bond’s campaign for Senate in Missouri…a Republican. I didn’t know much about him, but I thought anyone named Kit Bond had to be cool. I called the campaign, no one was there, left a message.

The second campaign was for Tom Docking running for Governor in Kansas…a Democrat. Again, didn’t know much about him except that his dad was Governor and my dad always said good things about him. I called the campaign, no one was there, left a message.

My choices were virtually random. It had never occurred to me to call a campaign and volunteer and the Bond and Docking campaigns were simply the only ones that came to mind at that very moment. I didn’t know who was the Democrat or who was the Republican and I didn’t much care.

Here’s the punch line: The Bond campaign never called me back. The Docking campaign did. That’s how I became a Democrat. I started volunteering that next week and a week after that they hired me.

Today I am surrounded by other Democrats. My clients are all Democrats. The few Republican friends I have are just token friends who are to be tolerated. (I don’t mean you if you think you’re my friend and you’re a Republican).

I have gone from completely non-partisan to moderate Midwestern Democrat to Minnesota Liberal. After 12 years inside the Washington Beltway, I have became a nauseatingly Northeastern Progressive.

My progression in political thinking did not come about based in any way on what I saw on television. My core beliefs are very clearly formed by the people who surround my daily life; my friends, my co-workers, my neighbors.

The point is that the most powerful source of information for voters is other voters. The best way to affect a voter is a friend’s recommendation. The bigger your army of volunteers, the more votes you’ll get. This year the winning campaigns are going to have a new player in their inner circle; a consultant whose job it is to keep the campaign focused on a single mantra: Volunteers are back and they’re winning campaigns again.

That’s the new paradigm

Next week I’ll do some math and talk about the 3 degrees of separation.