Media Bias and Concentration Essay -- Politics Political Television TV

Media Bias and Concentration After witnessing a hotly contested election and the massive amounts of campaigning done by both parties in effort to inform the public and reach as many voters as possible, one question still remains poignant: Where do we get our information? The myriad landscape that is the media today, can be accessed from almost anywhere, and has, in many ways, entrenched itself in American culture, replacing what used to be standard outlets of information. Television and print news have long dominated the average American household in terms of being used to access information, but new outlets, like the internet and film have grown into major ways in which people learn about what is happening in the world. The emergence of so many varied sources of information, however, and the ever-growing accessibility of unchecked information raises a different question; not so much the source of our information but rather, what is the quality of the information we are getting? Mass media has long had an influe nce on society and an in depth look at its most popular forms today would most definitely reveal several glaring inequities in the way TV networks, print media, and internet websites communicate information. Many media sources are slanted, one way or another, in their views and coverage of people and events. Everette Dennis once stated that objectivity is what sets apart American mass media from the rest of the world and is one of the most important precepts of American journalism (103). In present times, however, media that provides completely impartial analysis of the facts is either hard to find, or deemed incredible. The fact of the matter is that in a large portion of mass media outlets what is best described as obj... ...lt;http://www.consortiumnews.com/2002/111302a.html>. Population Explosion InternetNews. 2 Dec. 2004 . Posters from WWII. San Jose State University. 2 Dec. 2004 . Sinclair Broadcast Group refuses to broadcast Nightline episode on fallen soldiers. Center for Media & Democracy. 1 Dec. 2004 . Taylor, Philip M. Munitions of the mind. New York City: Manchester UP, 2003. 315-318. The Big Ten. The Nation. 2 Dec. 2004 . Top News Sites. American Press Institute. 21 Nov. 2004 . Why Not? Personal Computer Services. 2 Dec. 2004 .