Bad, Bad Media

Whether we like it or not, the media shapes what we find important. As we discussed in class, the main reason people supported the Iraq war was because the media made people feel as if that war was important to our safety. The war became the most important issue to people. The media manipulates our thought process by making some things feel important than others, and we tend to put aside our needs and believe that things will be ok once the issue the media is focused on is solved. But once their story is losing steam, they jump on something else as if it is the most important thing to us. The election 08 is a good example, at some point; some people actually said that the Rev Wright issue was more important than the economy in helping them decide who to vote for. If you ask most Foxnews audience what they find important, they would most likely make you think investigating ACORN is more important than Health Care reform. As we continue to seek objectivity from the media, shouldn’t we also seek relevant stories? What is lost in the objectivity debate is the kind of stories that should be reported on. We are in two wars and amid a recession created by the financial crisis. Amazingly, you will hardly find any media sources except for the internet that is monitoring the financial institutions; neither is anyone paying attention to the wars. The media continue to say that the public is losing support for the wars, why won’t we? They continue to make those wars irrelevant by not constantly reminding Americans of why we are in those wars. Also you might even be surprised that the financial institutions are back to their old practices, (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-lux/returning-to-their-old-ha_b_216642.html) but many Americans today are outraged at government spending, taxation, ACORN and not even a bit concerned about those institutions that got us in the economic situation we are in the first place, why? Because certain media outlets have made it a habit to seek more viewers and sponsors rather than report on issues that really affect every American. If you have reporters such as Glen Beck revving up disgruntled Americans and telling them their problems is big government spending, while stoking racial rhetoric and in the process, gaining audience, why would other reporters find it in their interest to report important issues? We the people continue to allow the media to control our thinking and interests by continually paying attention to things that don’t matter. It is also worth mentioning that educative issues such as global warming, American history, and community outreach are less popular among Americans and the media, you will hardly find people to discuss relevant issues with, but many people can discuss, dancing with the stars, Flava of love and other reality shows all day.