One of the great freedoms that America provides is the freedom of speech. Our Founding Fathers had the foresight to incorporate this freedom into our constitution. Over the years, countless of American soldiers lost their lives to protect our freedom and our freedom of speech.
The media is expected to be responsible in its reporting. It is called journalistic integrity. It is sad, however, that some major media outlets are abusing their powers for their own gain.
What can we do? As Americans, we need to check our facts. Do not believe everything you read. Do not believe everything you see on TV. Try watching news from a different perspective. Try the Fox News channel. Try foxnews.com. Try watching political news from several different news networks, and try to pick up on their biases and viewpoints.
During the the past year’s Presidential election, it was clear which major TV networks support which presidential candidate. The bias was clear. The attacks were unethical. The media’s role is to report the unbiased and objective truth. Too often, the media reported convenient half truths to support its political agenda. Instead of reporting the news, they pass editorials as news.
It is the role of the American people to decide for ourselves. When watching the news, we cannot watch mindlessly without our critical thinking caps on. If we are not questioning the media’s objectivity, by default we are allowing their agenda to shape our opinion and perception. We need to check our facts and decide for ourselves. If you find that the media is inserting its opinion and agenda, chances are they are not reporting news, but rather running their own propaganda. Decide for yourself, and if needed, change the channel and watch another media outlet.
Finally, encourage and challenge others to evaluate the media’s objectiveness on their own.