reply week 2
I chose to discuss- Option 1
News media has a significant influence on American citizens' lives. People rely a lot on the information received from the media, even though it may be partially accurate. In contrast with traditional news media, when things were much more straightforward, transparent, and honest, nowadays, there is so much unclear information out there that creates a vague and contradictory image of the government and politics. Since the traditional news media started to be owned by different corporations and organizations, the news has been shaped to favor a particular political party. It is acceptable that citizens have different political opinions because we are not the same, but when there is misleading and misinformation from news media, that is a serious problem. It does not help our society; contradictory, it promotes confusion and hostility among citizens.
Most people need more time or skills to research facts, and they place significant trust and confidence in the news media to relay accurate information. I agree that citizens are uninformed about the government's standing and wait until a major issue shakes our society to voice their concerns or opinions. In 2018, Greenberg and Page stated,” individual Americans do not care a great deal about politics and are rather poorly informed, unstable in their views, and not much interested in the political process “(p. 10). Citizens are tired and frustrated with political uniformity, discouraging them from participating in the political process. But how can we change this? It is very complex. More restrictions and legal sanctions must be imposed on news channels and stations that report fake news. In addition, citizens must be accurately informed about the facts affecting our society and the political leaders' involvement in governance so they can make well-informed voting decisions.
References:
Greenberg, E. S. & Page, B. I. (2018). The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 Elections and Updates Edition. (12th ed.). Pearson.
American Press Institute. Retrieved from:
www.americanpressinstitute.org
