Television is everywhere these days. It’s in the waiting area at your doctor’s office. It’s in most office building lobbies. It’s tuned to CNN at most airports. And some business owners are wondering whether it’s a good idea to keep those televisions tuned into the news, given today’s political climate.
Some are wondering if they should put something less polarizing on for their customers. Bill Hammond, former Texas Association of Business President, told KTRH says it would be rare for a customer to get upset, but that’s not something you can predict.
“The business owner would have to make an individual decision. If they’re annoying their customers they ought to turn it off or put the TV on National Geographic,” Hammond explained.
University of Houston journalism professor Joe Cutbirth says it could impact news outlets as well, but that's not going to change the way the mainstream media will do things.
“In eras where hyper-partisanship is part of the cultural norm, the tendency is for these news organizations to lock down a specific demographic with a partisanship point of view,” Cutbirth said, adding that the networks have been dealing with the question of political leaning for years. But as long as their advertisers are on board, don't look for things to change.