The Role of Media in Modern-Day Politics essays

The Role of Media in Modern-Day Politics essays The current role of mass media in American politics has definitely played a significant role in how Americans view and react to certain events and issues of the nation. Newspapers, magazines, television, and radio are some of the ways information is passed onto many of the United States' citizens. The World Wide Web is also an information superhighway, but not all of the sources on the Internet are credible. Therefore, I will only focus on the main three types of media: written, viewed, and audible, and how they affect whether or not democracy is being upheld in the land of the free. When I think about how Mass media effects politics and democracy in the U.S. today, the first thing that comes to mind is the war in Iraq. The biggest factor is that journalists are not allowed to film, or take pictures of wounded or deceased American soldiers. Why? I'll tell you why. During the middle of the Vietnam War, Americans saw on television and in newspapers the thousands of body bags being br ought back every day. This sparked a very large anti-war sentiment for many citizens, and in some cases, riots broke out (i.e. Kent State University killing). Although not as many Americans have died over in the middle east, a very large number have been wounded, and significant amounts (approx. 600) have been K.I.A. Why do Americans not see this? The government does not want the American citizens to see that we are struggling and that we aren't winning every battle. They [the government] don't want the people to have a big enough negative attitude towards the war so those riots would break out, or even an uprising. Many Americans don't even understand why we're over in Iraq, if WMD (weapons of mass destruction) have been found, or what the current main objective is. This is despicable! For the journalists not to be able to show the war, as a whole is an outrage and as an American citizen, I am fully upset with my government. I want to know the good as wel...