The Influence of Mass Media on American Politics - Term Paper Example

?First Teacher’s 8 April The Influence of Mass Media on American Politics Covering politics adequately is one of the hardest jobs that the American mass media can accomplish. Personal opinions of journalists concerning politicians can most certainly “sway” the portrayal of a candidate to the public. With this being said, it is fair to say that when it comes to reporting politics, be it via television news, newspapers, or online news, journalists often fail to do their job, which is primarily to report the news fairly, without bias. Because so many reporters and journalists are unable to do this, politicians as well as the general public are being done a huge disservice. Within this essay, this disservice will be discussed and many examples provided, proving that journalists do sometimes abuse their power when reporting political campaigns and/or political events or happenings, which can lead to misinformation and also damage of reputation for those involved in “biased” mass media reporting. One of the first examples that come to mind concerning biased reporting of politics comes from the everyday reporting of CNN and FOX television and web news. According to a journalism professor at The University of Tennessee, The Associated Press, which sets the standard for accredited news reporting throughout the United States, says that if you give one political candidate or party a certain amount of time on-air, in the newspaper or online, you must also give the opposing candidate the same amount of time and/or space. Neither of these mediums should do this; this is unfair and biased reporting, unethical on both network’s accounts. CNN is primarily a democratic network (Hyscience) and FOX is primarily a republican (Hyscience) network. Both of these networks work overtime bashing each other and defending the political party of their choice. For instance, during last year’s Tea Party republican rally, held in Nevada, it was reported by CNN that “dozens of people showed up” for this particular political event (Wizbang). However, other sources (Rightnetwork) provided pictures proving that thousands of people actually showed up for the Tea Party rally. CNN’s play on words, saying that “dozens” showed up, made it sound as if almost nobody showed up to support the Tea Party rally. Other sources estimated thousands of people showing up and also provided pictures of the multitude of people who showed up for the event. CNN’s bias toward the Democratic Party, in this case, was most certainly unethical, according to Associated Press standards, and these biased reports to the public made it look as if the Tea Party was just a minor event when in all actuality, it was a huge event. Also, MSNBC was very happy to report and broadcast a video recently of President Barack Obama being “snubbed” by Russian leaders (Youtube). This was broadcasted by MSNBC, another primarily republican network, only to make President Barack Obama look “bad”, like he isn’t being accepted by other world leaders. With the presidential re-election coming up, a conclusion could easily be drawn that MSNBC’s intentions for airing the video is to make the public consider the possible lack of respect that the rest of the world holds for President Barack Obama in hopes that he will lose the upcoming election. Reporting this in a negative light, unless it is the absolute truth, is most certainly unethical on MSNBC’s behalf. Yet another instance of unfair and biased reporting came many years ago, when former President Bill Clinton had an affair with Whitehouse intern, Monica Lewinski. Lewinski was “ragged” by the media and her character absolutely ripped apart by almost every network throughout the entire United States of America. They portrayed her as a “loose” woman, a “whore” and seemed to blame her more for the affair than they did the president himself. Of the millions of networks that portrayed her as such, only Barbara Walters, a huge name in the field of journalism, gave Monica her “say” in what happened between President Bill Clinton and herself. She told Barbara Walters how the president showered her with gifts and how he made her feel special. Monica Lewinski said something to the effect of, “How could anyone say no to the most powerful man in the world.” Because of the negative publicity, Monica now says it is impossible for her to date and to even get a job. “No matter how smart I am, no one will hire me,” said Lewinsky in an online interview. It is very sad that the reporting of such a terrible scandal has scarred this poor lady for life. She was, after all, only a very, very young adult enrolled in college when the scandal took place. The media attention concerning this particular scandal has ruined Monica Lewinsky’s life. In all actuality, it was just as much President Bill Clinton’s fault than it was Monica Lewinsky’s. Really, President Bill Clinton (may) should have assumed more responsibility for the scandal than Monica Lewinsky. He was, after all, much older and more powerful than she was. It is quite a shame that the media still portrays Monica Lewinsky as the villain instead of the victim concerning this particular scandal, a scandal which has destroyed Monica Lewinsky’s life. Although President Bill Clinton was impeached, he is still to this day looked at as a highly respected authority figure for the United States of America. In 2009, yet another example of media unfairness and cruelty was displayed after President Barack Obama held a meeting at the town hall in Fort Myers, Florida. College kid, Julio Osegueda, was picked by the president to ask a question related to his healthcare plan. Julio Osegueda told the president that he had been working at a local McDonald’s for four years because he could not find a better job. He asked the president if he had a plan to help those, who have been working low-paying jobs such as his, to receive better benefits than what they were already receiving. He also told the president that he was in college, hoping to become a broadcaster. The president bragged on Julio Osegueda’s communication skills and then answered his question concerning healthcare (Youtube, Osegueda). It was obvious that Julio Osegueda was more than excited about being able to speak to the president. “It’s any communicator’s dream to be able to speak with someone as huge and influential as President Obama,” said Julio Osegueda in an interview after the town meeting. Julio Osegueda’s enthusiasm at the event captured the attention of CNN and other networks, which were all seemingly shared in this young man’s excitement for getting to speak one-on-one with the President of the United States. However, late night talk shows and comedians poked fun at the aspiring communicator, replaying the enthusiastic clips of the young man speaking with the president and saying things such as, “This is why Julio will be working at McDonald’s for the next twenty years,” and “Julio doesn’t think he’s at a town meeting; he thinks he is on ‘The Price Is Right’.” It is horribly discouraging and shameful that the mass media would poke fun at this young man, who like Monica, was only a very, very young adult. Julio Osegueda was so excited and honored to have the opportunity to speak to the president. Yet, the mass media took this political event and for the most part, tried to make young Julio Osegueda out to be a “drama king” of sorts. Many republicans rebuked young Julio Osegueda saying that he was portraying President Obama to be some sort of god, when in all actuality, Julio Osegueda was thanking God before the nations for giving him the opportunity to speak face-to-face with President Obama. In an interview with CNN, Julio Osegueda stated that being able to speak to the president made him feel, “as if success was just around the corner;” he also said that he hadn’t been as excited as he was that day at Fort Myers since the day he received a Play Station 3 for Christmas. Two and a half years later, Julio is a disk jockey, still chasing his dreams and still accrediting the day that he spoke with President Obama as one of the most exciting days of his life. Journalist, Bessie Cherry, of Letter Press Publications says that Julio Osegueda was just given a “taste” of his destiny that day and that God has even greater things in store for young Julio Osegueda. “I believe that God just gave Julio a taste of his destiny and that one day he will be one of the greats in his career field. I don’t think in any shape, form or fashion that Julio Osegueda will be working at McDonald’s for the rest of his life. I am expecting to see the greatest things to come from Julio Osegueda. Julio Osegueda having the opportunity to speak to the president just confirmed his destiny to be one of the next great communicators of all time. It’s most certainly a shame that these late night media outlets took this particular political event and used it as an opportunity to poke fun at an aspiring young communicator. Shame on them,” says Bessie Cherry. In conclusion, it is very hard for the media to practice fair and unbiased reporting because of their own political preferences. Their lack of tact in cheering on their favorites and bullying their preferred opponents are not favorable attributes when it comes to their careers and the ethics thereof. Even some of the largest communication networks such as CNN, FOX and MSNBC do not follow The Associated Press standards for journalism excellence, which is unethical and poses a disservice to politicians and the public alike. What’s worse is when the media takes a political scandal or event that gain national attention and broadcast it to the point that it hurts some of the people involved to the point that it’s irreversible. Like Monica Lewinsky, though she was by far not innocent in the scandal with President Bill Clinton, she was still very young and the media broadcasted the political scandal to the point that it has destroyed her life forever. And like with young Mr. Julio Osegueda, the late night media took what was one of the “highest” lights of his life as an aspiring communicator and poked fun at him, discouraging him, all for a good joke and a good laugh. It stands that today’s media is very biased in reporting due to their own personal beliefs and it should be mandatory that the Associated Press’ standards and rules be practiced when it comes to all networks, be it television, newspaper, or web. Today’s reporters and journalists that make up the media are allowing things to get way out of hand at the expense of other’s lives and reputations. Work Cited Cherry, Bessie. “How The Media Can Ruin The Reputation of Innocent People”. Letter Press Publications. Executive Director of Communications.2011. Karipides, Dan. “At Least Dozens of Examples of Media Bias”. Wizbang. 28 March 2010. 9 April 2011. http://wizbangblog.com/content/2010/03/28/at-least-dozens-of-examples-of-media- bias.php Hoft, Jim. “CNN on Size of Searchlight Tea Party Rally: ‘Hundreds of People, At Least Dozens’”. Rightnetwork. 27 March 2010. 9 April 2011. http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2010/03/cnn-on-size-of-todays-searchlight-tea-party-rally-hundreds-of-people-at-least-dozens/ “Obama Gets Snubbed.” 26 October 2010. 9 April 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chdy2TICSzc “Obama Town Hall Meeting”. Osegueda, Julio. 11 February 2009. 9 April 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK7fClYIWiQ Hyscience. “The Incredible Anti-Republican Bias Of CNN's Coverage Of The Republican Convention (Updated)”. 3 September 2008. 9 April 2011. http://www.hyscience.com/archives/2008/09/the_incredible.php Read More