What we should expect from our news sources
Freedom of the press is essential to a healthy democracy.
It's a statement that might emit some "duhs" when I say it, but think over it. Why is freedom of the press so important?
News sources--where we get our information. And absolutely vital, because if we don't know the issues, events, and candidates of our day, we cannot make an informed vote. News=Informed voters=healthy democracy.
Why, then, does this noble institution drag us to such lows? When we seek information, we find nothing but bias. When nothing earth-shattering has happened, events are exaggerated until they're catastrophic. Watching the news can be more stressful than the events they report. And in some cases, the most important events are underplayed, masked, or spun beyond all recognition.
We need better. We need news sources that are not spouts for the "conservative fundamentalists" or the "godless liberals". We need news sources that are not the slaves of enormous corporations whose stock market abbreviations are too long to recall. This, more than anything, is the medicine that will cure some terrible ills in America: voter apathy, one-issue voting, predjudice, and the infamous "dumbing-down of America", to name a few.
I'll admit, I don't know how it can come about. How can a company amass the assets it takes to run a press or put on a TV show or even own a station without becoming ensnared by its own greed and politicking? How can reporters cut down on bias when "journalism experts" tell us that the elimination of bias is neither possible nor desirable? How can a nation ruled by a government have presses that are truly free from its influence?
I think the only way it can happen is if we insist on holding our news sources to higher standards. If we want accurate, fairly-reported news, we have to ask for it, and refuse to accept anything less. When the ratings aren't as high, that's when we'll see our higher standards.
--LL