As the 2016 presidential election draws nearer, the American public has been inundated with hordes of news reports and articles regarding the top Republican and Democratic candidates. Many, if not most, would say that such extensive and in-depth coverage of the candidates is vital in keeping the American public informed and knowledgeable of key political, social, and economic issues. This is an optimistic outlook on the bloodthirsty battle commonly known as American politics. While the media plays an essential role in providing coverage of the 2016 presidential election, its informative intention has been overshadowed by its bias and willingness to “play dirty” in order to push its own agenda. This aspect of today’s news and media outlets has been extremely detrimental and counterproductive as our nation struggles to find its next leader. Rather than provide essential information regarding each candidate’s platforms, the news has transformed the 2016 presidential election into an all out popularity contest in which the American people have become desensitized to useless information and blind to legitimate solutions to the problems facing our country today.

As a political system, democracy depends on the population in which it governs to take it upon itself to become educated enough to elect leaders that are capable of driving the country in the right direction. Surely, the founders of democracy did not anticipate the introduction of such a powerful third party as the media is today. Some argue that the media could not possibly be such a negative force as to politically and economically sway the United States in the wrong direction due to it consisting of American citizens, too. What this viewpoint does not recognize, however, is that most major news and media outlets are giant corporations and have solely one goal: to make money. News reports and articles are indefinitely useful tools at the disposal of the American public. However, the big name news channels and websites (Fox, CNN, ABC, Buzzfeed, etc.) are ultimately aimed at making a profit. When the media decides making a profit is of greater importance than providing unbiased, useful information to the American public, it is time to take a step back and evaluate if the information we are getting is truthful and valuable.

The news outlets, as pertaining to the 2016 presidential election, have pitted Republicans and Democrats against each other in what seems like a battle of witty jokes and harsh name-calling. This year’s presidential election is unprecedented in how far both conservative and liberal news outlets have gone to demean each other and the candidates they endorse. The proof is abundant and can be seen daily. From commercials designed to liken the presidential debates to intense boxing matches, to news reports displaying how one candidate chooses to spend his free time compared to another, the media has dumbed down the election process by providing the American public with utter nonsense in place of educational material. This is worsened when one analyzes the ways in which a conservative news station, like Fox, and a liberal news station, like CNN or NBC, talk about each other’s candidates in regards to social and economic issues. The process in which these feuds affect the American public is simple. Two news outlets verbally attack and demean the candidates that they support. These attacks are often empty accusations, such as “this candidate is racist, sexist, homophobic, a socialist, anti-American”… the list is never-ending. The American public eventually begins to associate each party with the negative qualities that the news stations have been feeding them. Today, for example, Democrats view all Republicans as conservative, and Republicans view all Democrats as liberal. This is blatantly untrue, but the stereotypes have already been put into place. If the media has done two things exceptionally well over the course of the 2016 presidential election, it has been telling people what and how to think, and managing to divide the American people into two catchall categories.

Every single citizen deserves the right to have a say in what goes on in a democratic society, like the United States. Our nation has been plagued, however, by the onslaught of misinformation and empty promises made by media. In order for the news and media outlets to have a positive impact on the 2016 presidential election, they must come to the realization that by pushing their agenda and dictating how people should vote, they are doing a great disservice to our country. The American public must also step up and take it upon themselves to reject biased information and make a conscious effort to understand the political issues at hand from all different perspectives. If just one of these occurs, it could mean great things for future presidential elections and, in turn, the United States.