University of Georgia student Samuel Woo has a few thoughts about today’s news media and the public’s current disdain for what it has to offer.

When asked about their view on the news media, Americans used words like “immoral”, “corrupt”, “inaccurate” and “hurts democracy.”

Granted, it is fairly difficult to take the media seriously when there are people like Nancy Grace and Bill O’ Reilly screaming their biased opinions down your throat. Thankfully, the majority of the nation’s media is unbiased, professional and has the public’s interest in mind. Sometimes it may be hard to tell, but yes, not all members of the media are classless, biased individuals.

“A wide variety of public opinion polls have documented the fact that most Americans now see the media as politically biased, inaccurate, intrusive, and a tool of powerful interests,” according to a study by the Media Research Center.

“A historically large percentage of respondents thought reporters were ‘not professional’ (32 percent) and ‘don’t care about how good a job they do’ (31 percent),” according to Politico.com.

Clearly, something is wrong with this picture.

The goal of the news media is to provide the public with accurate, unbiased information. However, competing news agencies tend to fabricate stories to attract viewers, and it is no surprise that the public has learned to distrust the news media.

To understand why America does not trust the news media, all you have to do is turn on your television. The daily news has been reduced to nothing more than arrogant talk show hosts bickering back and forth about their view of a particular issue. It seems that many TV hosts are more concerned about looking intelligent than presenting actual facts.

America’s confidence in Congress has also taken a toll for the worst. In 1973, 42 percent of Americans stated that they had “a great deal” of confidence in Congress, but 40 years later, that number is down to a measly seven percent, according to polls by Gallup.

Considering the fact that America’s view of Congress is directly correlated to its view of the news media, it is easy to understand why the public is losing faith. After all, if the people cannot trust their Congress, how can they trust the people that interact with and report on Congress?

The emergence of the paparazzi has certainly not helped the case for journalism either. The combination of relentless story chasers and characters like Bill O’ Reilly have certainly damaged the reputation of the average member of the news media. However, it is important to point out that they make up a minority of the news media – they just receive the most attention.

The majority of the news media is genuinely concerned about the stories that they cover, they want the public to be informed and they strive to report accurate information….


 
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