It seems people have gotten more involved with the presidential race this year than ever before. Even young adults, usually seen to be apathetic towards politics, have shown an interest, wanting to see a change and feeling concerned about their future. But no matter how much people get involved, a majority of Americans will see only what they see on television, and nothing more.
We, as Americans, live such fast paced lives, and the truth is we don’t always have time to do our homework. We vote for the names we hear on the six o’clock news. We vote for who’s leading in the polls. Whether we give them credit or not, the media has a huge impact on the way we view political candidates, and in turn who we cast our vote for in the polls.
So with all of the influence media has on society and molding our views, how can we ensure we are getting the whole picture, and not just the candidates they choose to shine a light on?
As journalists, we are taught to be fair and objective. We are to give voice to the voiceless. We are to tell all sides of the story. But when it comes to covering politics, it’s just that: politics. And things can get pretty political when reporting it.
When a candidate sheds tears while speaking to a crowd, is it the media’s job to play that moment up to the fact that she gets votes the following day? Does it then become a political move to do so?
When a candidate gets 8 percent in a state, should the media say “Oh that’s what we expected of him.”? Or should they then ask, “You have rightly earned 8 percent of the states population. What do you have to offer us that you feel another candidate does not?” Or do we simply tell him he cannot participate in the upcoming debate?
Decisions like this affect our society as a whole everyday. The decision to shed one candidate in a brighter light than another could give a voting citizen the idea that he or she should vote for the winning candidate. And if we have a majority of Americans going to the polls voting for who they think will win rather than who they want win, we have another problem altogether.
I feel like the media’s job is to report the facts at face value. If one candidate gets 4 percent in one state, while another gets 5, don’t shed more light on the one that gets fifth place just because he or she wasn’t supposed to place where they did. So if at all possible, lets try to report politics fairly, and upon doing so, take the politics out of it all together.
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4 comments:
It's unfortunate that the most qualified candidates with the best stances on the issues don't get the coverage they deserve. It doesn't even matter if you have the money or the message. It's as if the media has their mind made up over who is supposed to win and the sheepish people just follow their lead. In a perfect world the final two candidates based solely on experience and message would be Bill Richardson and Ron Paul. Yet Richardson dropped out of the race long ago and Ron Paul is just holding on to make a point. He has all the money but can not break through. In the end, at the very least his message of liberty may be the real winner in this race. Our country will look back on this election and realize the folly they made because they did not do their homework. Are McCain, Hillary and Obama the best that we can do? I don't believe so. But hey at least we won't be stuck with Romney or Giuliani. Hell I'd rather vote for Mike Gravel before any of these candidates. He's been written off as a total kook. Why is this though? People need to vote with courage. Vote for the candidate which most similarly mirrors their values and ideals. It should not matter who the media tells you is the most "electable". Our country has lost it's way because CNN, Faux news, and NBC rule our lives. Wake up America and do your homework. If you did maybe we would be living up to our potential as the greatest nation on earth. If you don't, just look what we get stuck with. I would have thought that the past seven years would have taught us all something. It's sad that they haven't.
Everything is electoral propaganda¡¡¡
In América, since Kennedy, all the presidents win the elections thanks to the media influence.
If Kennedy was able to win (being a member of the Maffia, whit lot of lies..., etc, etc...), everybody can do it¡¡¡
Yes, you can¡¡¡ (what a stupid propaganda).
You only need...lot of money¡¡¡¡
Is that a democracy? I don´t think so¡¡
Bye¡¡¡
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