Before I moved to college, I rarely watched the news. I could always get what happened in the day from the internet. Even now, I still get the vast majority of my news from the internet, sprinkled occasionally with the local newspaper here on campus or The New York Times.
The news, media itself, is frustrating. Sometimes only half the story is told. Often times, the outlet and the story are wildly biased (to both the left and the right). That is why the internet is so popular. It is not only the democratization of media and information, it also offers a wide variety of biased and unbiased sources. Through different sources, one could create a full story. One could see through the bias and understand what is truly happening and form their own opinions.
None of this is new. Most of the general population understands how deeply the media has failed us as a society. The power the media exerts over us is deeply disturbing and undemocratic.
The first time I was subjected to the unfairness of the media industry was the current election season. Let us get one thing straight, Trump would never be in the position he is in now had he not had the media on his side. Certainly the media was less than positive (to put it mildly), but he was gaining free advertisement simply by spouting ludicrous statements. The media paid attention and did not condemn the hate speech or the violence. The 2016 election cycle was simply a spectacle, an extension of ‘reality television’.
Once again, full disclosure, I was a Bernie Sander supporter and am still biased towards his policies and the man himself. However, the media did not pay attention to the ‘fringe’ politics of the left, focusing instead on the Clinton campaign. Indeed, there were confirmed reports of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) rigging the primary election against Bernie Sanders. Still, it is remarkable that against all odds Bernie Sanders competed on a national scale, won nearly half the states, and determined a large part of the 2016 Democratic Platform.
Even now, the media is still at it. I was sitting in my dining hall trying to enjoy my breakfast when something about Trump comes on. It is fine to acknowledge both sides of the presidential race, and to suggest otherwise would be a complete fall in our democracy. However, when Trump’s coverage is solely campaign related and Clinton’s is not, there is something truly wrong and troubling. Indeed, the past few days the only thing I have seen about Clinton’s campaign is how a top aide is divorcing Anthony Wiener. Mr. Wiener is getting the entire attention of the nation, stealing from the issues that are actually important.
Mr. Trump recently gave a speech about how Mexico is going to pay 100% for the wall, going so far as to meet with the president of Mexico himself. What has the Clinton campaign been doing? Who would know, since the only thing it has been up to is dealing with the private life of an aide, something that has no weight on the actual campaign. The issues are pushed under the rug and the Clinton campaign suffers because of it.
None of this is going away anytime soon. Still, corruption must be fought. As a society, we cannot ignore a side of the political landscape. Nor can we let the media dictate to us what is and is not important. We must think deeply and critically. We must view the world with a grain of salt. The media exerts a powerful hand, often times invisible, on everything we say, vote for, and believe about the world. Think for yourself and form your own well informed beliefs.
