The House Judiciary Committee has finally accepted the Democrats' articles of impeachment against Trump. This means that the American media can spend all the time they want on impeachment hearings, the investigation, and diving into the intricacies of congressional politics.
Yet, this is to our disadvantage. American media is unreliable as it is, and whenever our country faces a political scandal, our media gives into sensationalism. But when do American residents get to learn about the dozens of policies and legislation that has been passed by the House and sits at the desks of the Senate? When are American citizens told about the environmental havoc America is causing in United Nations talks on climate change because of its focus on Trump?
The fact is we don't. Media or journalism more specifically, as an industry, has forgotten its crucial role in our democracy. The scramble for viewer ratings has slashed our right to information.
Elected officials, who should be spending time creating legislation for the American people, are not only distracted by the impeachment but are also unable to reach out to the public through the media on actual legislation. America will slowly forget about the debate on gun control legislators need to have, the child separation issues at the border, the impact of the U.S. leaving Syria, clean water at home, student debt crisis. The government is failing its people more and more, and this is only being exacerbated by the media.
American politics has been driven by delay tactics and feigning ignorance when convenient these past few years. The impeachment coverage is doing exactly what many -- though not all -- officials wish to do -- distract us from real problems at hand.
Impeachment also takes away from an administration -- how responsible can an administration be if what it's known for is the impeachment of its leader? Thus, we must demand real information about what our elected leaders are doing for us aside from impeachment. Media was designed to serve the public, and it is our duty to hold it responsible.