Surveys Find News Media Encour­ages Political Division; Why Workplace Comms Suffers

Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is deepening political divisions in this country, an Associated Press survey finds. Forty-five percent say they have little or no confidence that the media will report news fairly and accurately.

“The news riles people up,” says respondent Barbara Jordan, a 53-year-old Democrat from Hutchinson, Kan. 

Partisan cable outlets and social media sites have conditioned many Americans to regard one another as enemies, says Joe Salegna, a 50-year-old Republican in Long Island, N.Y. “I think it’s tearing this country apart,” he says. 

When it comes to news outlets, “Everyone tells a different story,” says Janis Fort, a 71-year-old Republican who lives in Navarre, Fla. 

One-third of American adults surveyed say they see misleading headlines or stories with false claims from politicians every day. Nearly two-thirds of respondents say they expect news stories on social media to be inaccurate. About 60% say the news media bears blame for spreading misinformation.

As Communication Channels Proliferate, Workplace Comms Suffers 

A glut of workplace messaging technologies is impeding communication, breeding mistakes and encouraging rude behavior, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Lisa Donovan, a part-time accountant for an academic-coaching firm, says she juggles 30 instant-messaging channels, four client-email accounts and a dozen phone or video calls a day. “It’s overwhelming,” says her boss Wendy Weinberger, head of the firm. 

In a 2022 Harris Poll, bosses estimated that every week, their teams lost nearly an entire workday to poor communication. Among professionals recently surveyed, nearly half said that remote work made it easier for colleagues to get away with rude behavior. Remote work has heightened the potential for colleagues to clash, some employees told the paper.

Sally Susman, chief corporate affairs officer at Pfizer, says that in the absence of in-person social cues, the voice becomes more important. Use it to convey the collegiality that would be felt in-person, she advises. In email or text messages, add a little warmth to avoid sounding transactional.

Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose the Use of AI in Hiring

Many employers are using AI technology in their hiring and workplace decisions, some officials estimate. But a new Pew Research Center survey also finds that 71% of Americans oppose the use of AI in hiring decisions. Most also oppose using AI to help decide who is fired.

Pluralities surveyed further oppose AI being used to review job applications and determine promotions. Majorities do not support AI systems being used to follow employees’ movements at work or to keep track of when office workers are at their desks. Among respondents who believe that racial or ethnic biases influence performance evaluations, more believe that greater use of AI by employers would improve processes to hire or evaluate workers. 

Asked whether they think AI will benefit or harm workplaces in the next 20 years, a higher share said the technology will hurt rather than help workers. But just 28% believe artificial intelligence will have a significant effect on their own jobs.

Bills Would Ban Weight Discrimination in Workplaces

In her memoir “Good Power,” Ginni Rometty, the first female CEO of IBM, says her weight did not hinder her career. However, as NPR reports, studies have shown that overweight women are penalized in the workplace.

“Heavier women tend to earn less,” the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said in a 2011 report. These penalties “continue to increase as women age,” the report added. In his analysis, economist David Lempert found that an increase of 10% in a woman’s body mass decreased her income by 6%. Overweight women start with lower wages and receive fewer raises and promotions, he said.

People can be fired for being overweight, which is not a protected category under the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Bills introduced in New York City and in New York state would prohibit discrimination based on a person’s weight. Massachusetts and New Jersey have introduced similar legislation. Bans on weight discrimination already exist in Michigan, Washington State and San Francisco. 

‘Succession’ Captivates Fans with Language Power Plays

As the hit HBO series “Succession” concludes after four seasons, clever linguistic detail has distinguished the show from its television rivals, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“Succession” follows the Roy family’s internal battle to control a global media conglomerate. Fans have enjoyed the characters’ creative insults, especially those of family patriarch Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox.

Logan’s son Roman (Kieran Culkin) is snarky. Roman’s sister, Shiv (Sarah Snook), smoothly navigates political chatter while their brother Kendall (Jeremy Strong) traffics in the buzzwords of business and tech.

Jesse Armstrong, series creator for “Succession,” said the show’s writers have tried to avoid merely packing the dialogue with outrageous zingers. The most cutting insults on the show, he said, illustrate power dynamics between the characters.

British writers for the show have worked with American counterparts to coin fresh word combinations. When Roman tries to fire the company’s interim CEO Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron), she replies, “You are a weak monarch in a dangerous interregnum."