The Media in American Politics.

Danatra Taylor
July 25, 2009

The Media in American Politics
According to the online Webster dictionary, the media, or mass media are the Verbal visual numerical, written and audio transmissions that are extensively distributed to the public. The Person Text, Government by the people, defines media as a means of communication that has been called “the other government’ or the fourth branch of government’. Media includes Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, Cinema, the World Wide Web, Television and all other electronic devices of communications. Modern Americans can get the news from a variety of available sources of media; however the television is the major form of news broadcasting. From my observation, the importance of media coverage regarding politics to the American public is that the media greatly influences the opinions of the people. During the presidential Elections, for instance, the media is saturated with commentary coverage of the candidate’s campaigns to give voters both positive and negative view of their aspiring representatives.

Advantages and disadvantages of the media in American Politics:
Advantages: 1) during era when America was establishing herself as a nation, there were limited news sources/media, and many people, especially in rural areas were ignorant of the happenings in their own country. Therefore, only town meetings, letters, and local news paper were available information to the public. Nowadays, the political arena is a stress filled race whereby the American Public are attacked by countless amounts of information via television coverage of rallies and campaigns, radio, internet, newspapers and billboards, all contending for the attention of the general public with hopes of winning their admiration and support. 2) The President has the right to receive mass media news /television coverage, in the interest of informing the public of issues that will undoubtedly affect our lives in our country. This also gives the American public firsthand knowledge of the presidency. 3) Allows viewers to see every aspect of the campaign journey of the candidates.
Disadvantages: Unfortunately, the general public has to wade through the bog of negative advertisement to find the issues important to their convictions while trying to find the best person that would provide the best representation to all the peoples of the United States 1) The Private lives of the President and other politicians are often public knowledge. 2) The fact that the lives of politicians are always in the media leaves little room for past or present mistakes or acts of impropriety, for instance, the presidential candidates or other politicians are often discovered in illegal or immoral behavior. The media will ensure that the American public and the world at large will know of the act(s) within a few days. This sort of information impedes the campaign journey, reputation and reelection potential for any hopeful politician. For example, President Clinton’s stint with Monica Lewinski, John Edward cheating on his wife, not to mention the many governors that have been caught soliciting prostitutes. 3) Certain news carriers may be biased towards a particular party. For example, in my opinion, FOX news is particularly republican whereas CNN by my own observation has a tendency to be categorically democrat. 4) The media inadvertently or perhaps intentionally by design lead people to view political campaigns as just a contest rather than the engagement of serious discussion of issues and concerns that affect us all.
The different attitudes on the media in politics: According to the Pearson Text, Government by the People; the television has changed the nature of American politics, the instant coverage of the happenings in the world increases the pressure on leaders to respond quickly to crises, permits terrorists to gain widespread coverage of their actions, and elevates the role played by the president in both domestic and international politics. Noam Chomsky of the Chomsky reader stated that “the entire American broadcast media and most of the print media as well, are owned primarily by wealthy individuals. Direct ties to the biggest of big businesses are almost unbelievably extensive and we believe these ties cannot help but seriously bias and compromise news coverage. Moreover, the media empires are, first and foremost, profit-making corporations that conduct themselves much like other corporations with the understanding of ‘he who has the gold rules’.
I believe both the media and politicians do their fair share of damage to the political process. However the media is not going away, Face it, politics is big business. Responsible news providers make it their business to get important information to the general public with the expectation that people are wise enough to make up their own minds about who is best to represent their interest and that of the country. Politicians need to realize that in the political arena, your life and your words are not confidential; therefore one in politics must strive to be politically and morally upright. Of course we know that human nature will cause them to slip up, but a slip up should not be a month long stint with a prostitution ring or the hiring of call girls. Knowledge of right and wrong must be in mind at all times. As far as campaigns go, the American public cannot be blamed for treating the campaigns like competitions because the politicians do it also. All politicians should realize and want what is best for the country and push themselves in that regard.
Recently, President Barak Obama got caught up in an ongoing and side taking battle, when he learnt that a friend of his Professor Gates, from Harvard University, a black man was arrested in his own home by a white officer. The President stated that although he did not have all the details, the Police acted stupidly and racial profiling is still running rampant in the country. This caused a major upsets in the police department, colleagues of the officer that made the arrest, as well as other members of the American public. Another disadvantage of the media is that after statements have been made, that could possibly upset a number of people, no matter how many retractions, and your statements almost always live on in the minds exposed to the information. Politicians need to have major levels of discernment, and decide when to speak out and when to keep mum on the matter. Not knowing all the details is grounds for the latter. It is much more sensible to wait until one is privy to all of the facts before one can carelessly make statements that will stir up strong emotions among people who still experience what was implied or the people who want to believe that such acts are in the past. However we also need to realize that President Barak Obama is a man entitled to his own opinions like the rest of us. His opinion may be influenced by the fact that he is a black man who grew up in an era when being black did not always work in a young man’s favor whether rich or poor, educated of ignorant the eyes of prejudice saw only ‘black’. Perhaps the outraged people do not want to believe that such prejudice still exist in this day and time. But the Black and Latino population knows that such a thought is wishful thinking.

Reference: http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_burns_govbrief_5/0,7874,770542-,00.html
U.S. Government: A Look Inside. Thomas Byrnes
http://www.progressiveliving.org/mass_media_and_politics.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/22/harvard.gates.interview/index.html


NOTE: This is a little old but I used it for my starter since this is my first time blogging