Friday, October 28, 2011

Does the Media Help Discern Votes?

In 2008, widely respected columnist Stuart Taylor writes: "one reason that candidates get away with dishonest campaign ads and speeches may be that it is so hard for undecided voters like me to discern which charges are true, which are exaggerated, and which are false. Most people can't spend hours every day cross-checking diverse sources of information to verify the accuracy of slanted stories and broadcasts." Perhaps it is true that slanted stories and broadcasts do exist, and indeed those instances provide great difficulty in discerning who to vote for.  However, one must take into account that while the media is the direct liaison between the government and the people, there are three sides to every story.  In this case, its the media's story, the government's story, and the truth.  See this video on various coverage of political issues covered by various media sources.  


Some may view the media as a paper shredder in the way that the flow of information is parallel to a sheet of paper, that paper is sent through the shredder (the media in this case) and fed in pieces to the public.  However, some may view the media as a phenomenon that involves human beings; human beings who have their own political beliefs.  There is no doubt that some outlets of media are more or less conservative than others.  However, what comes into question is how much the media should be relied upon in deciding the elections by way of the popular vote.  


In viewing this graph, specifically looking at Rick Perry, between positive and negative feedback, 52% of viewers expressed feedback to him based on news coverage from May-October.  If this graph is completely true, in viewing the statistics of all of the major candidates (those who have higher poll ratings), the news alone is a major player in the tone people have for the candidates.  With so much influence on the public, it is no wonder that so many are skeptical of the news.  Perhaps it is beneficial to do research and finding graphs and videos such as those above in this blog in an effort to fact check and find the most accurate information as possible.  While it is widely believed there is no way to tell what is happening within the hierarchy of the government without being within the hierarchy of the government,   as a democratic nation we must vote.  If it is the media that provides us with the most tools to find the preferred candidate, it becomes our duty as citizens to discern the coverage we believe to be true over the false ones in order to discern our vote for the best Presidential candidate.  

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