Bryan Lutter’s letter to the editor in Dec. 19’s issue brought up the clear bias that news networks like Fox News and CNN have. I’d like to use this as a jumping off point to discuss the core values of conservatives and liberals and how they’re used by media to persuade the audience.

A study by psychologists Jon Haidt and Jesse Graham showed that liberals and conservatives usually place higher importance in different values. For instance, equality and fairness tend to hold a higher importance for liberals, while one of conservatives’ primary values is respect for authority. This isn’t to say that conservatives don’t value equality at all, nor that liberals can’t respect authority, but one side usually places more importance in one than in the other. 

When you listen to slanted news stations like Fox News and CNN, those reporters are going to be speaking to their target audiences and their core values, meaning you’ll be more inclined to agree with the information being given to you in the language that reflects your own, Fox News for conservatives, CNN for liberals.

A study by Robb Willer, a professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Business at Stanford University, showed conservatives that read a pro-environment essay using words that targeted their core beliefs of sanctity and purity found themselves more convinced than the conservatives who read a similar essay that instead focused on protection from harm, a core value that liberals generally hold.

I noticed these ideas being applied by advertising campaigns during the 2024 election as well. No to H argued to keep South Dakota pure from Californian ideas, and Yes to H combatted this by appealing to conservatives’ value of patriotism, stating how veterans who are registered as third party are currently unable to vote in the Republican primary, even if the veterans lean conservative.

It’s important to get multiple viewpoints, yes, but don’t limit yourself to mainstream echo chambers when there is a spectrum of thought out there to provide you with perspectives you would otherwise miss. 

Also, be wary of where you get your news from, whether they be biased or give flat out nonfactual information, especially in this age of artificial intelligence. (No, Facebook, where any ding-a-ling with Internet access can post something as “fact,” is not a reliable source.) Fact check things you read and hear. Yes, it takes more work than just taking someone at their word (as well as willpower if what you hear aligns with your own values and bias), but that’s part of your duty as a voting citizen: to be informed!