Who decides what news is? That is a very complicating question. There are a few groups of people that I think determines the news. Obviously journalists decide to an extent, but I think the government and advertising play a huge part in what we hear on the TV and on the radio. Journalists many times will report only “half” of the news; the half that the government wants to be heard. Whatever is in the best interest of the government is sometimes what gets reported. I also think advertising plays a part in the editorial content because without the advertising dollars, the news could not exist. Advertisers can enforce their political views by threatening to take away their advertising dollars if the reporters don’t give the information the advertiser wants them to. Some journalists are ethical and report every piece of information that is important to an event, but I also think journalists are heavily influenced and manipulated by outside forces.
I think we need a media that represents a diverse range of people because otherwise we would see only biased material on the news. It is impossible to report on a situation from every possible point of view if you don’t have a diverse news team. Topics and concerns vary depending on who is reporting the information. For instance, the media initially reported the war in a completely one-sided way. The war was depicted from President Bush’s point of view and not all of the facts were presented. In the press conference in one of the Bill Moyers reports, it is apparent the journalists were told what to ask and President Bush already had answers prepared. He didn’t have to answer any questions he didn’t want to. This is a biased way of reporting the beginning of a war. People thought the reason we went to war had to do with 9-11 even though it had nothing to do with that. It is important to have a diverse range of people regarding political views when giving American citizens vital information about war.
The media has also failed to cover recent social protests. The protests against the war have been swept under the rug and completely ignored. During the Civil Rights Movement, it would have been front-page news but now no one cares enough to cover it. Advertisers have too much power over editorial content and vital news information isn’t being reported. The media was extremely beneficial during the Civil Rights Movement because the media actually covered major events such as protests. Protests would make front-page news and force government officials to listen to the people. The protests would also influence other citizens and get people riled up to join in. Now, the news doesn’t help much regarding protests because it isn’t even being covered. Apparently there were hundreds, even thousands, of people that came together to protest the war in Iraq and we didn’t even hear about it.
I think it is important to have a diverse group of people reporting the news and covering important historical events instead of ignoring them. First of all, minorities need to be represented on the news team so their views can be expressed regarding specific issues and concerns. I also think it is important to have a diverse political group reporting the news so issues can be covered from every angle. I also think there should be laws against the government and advertising interfering with the news. Since they are currently allowed to interfere, we are not getting correct information regarding major issues going on right now. As a person going into the world of journalism, I feel it is my personal duty not to be influenced by outside forces and only report the news based on facts. I hope more young people going into journalism consider ethics before going into the workforce.
Bill Moyers: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11022007/watch2.html
Minority Media - http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11022007/watch.html
Buying the war? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=moyj06p24f’
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