They do not listen critically to the reporting and often have no context in which to analyze the information being provided. A majority of Americans are more likely to be influenced by the recent explosion in polling data. We live in an age of sound bytes and instantaneous information. Thought is supplanted by empty double-speak. Look at the polls.
Polls are easy to take, easy to report and quick to digest.
They are suggestive. They provide the anchors of the nightly news with pseudo-evidence to support their editorializing. At the time of the American Revolution, the presses were partisan. And they were proudly partial. Today the media is of one opinion.