Citizens Need The Media To Be Fully Engaged
The dissemination of a wide variety of verifiable viewpoints is essential for individuals to formulate their own conclusions about the economic state of our nation, Washington’s foreign policy, the international community and the United States’ active or inactive participation in world crises. It is the responsibility of both the FCC and Washington to enable press coverage to prosper and to inhibit the creation of unregulated mergers in the media industry.
THE NEED FOR GOOD INFORMATION
TV stations are paramount receivers of campaign spending. They are among the limited venues for serious public discourse and because those venues are controlled by only six major corporations, it is nearly impossible to obtain authentic, unfiltered coverage. The purpose of media is to provide the nation’s constituents with a mirror that reflects and magnifies the decisions undertaken by its government in the name of its citizens.
The failure to provide this kind of reflection for society is virtually unconstitutional and the pseudo-information that is spewed by extremists is a representation of the inability to foster a genuine forum for information dissemination. The FCC turned its head defiantly while media companies insidiously engulfed local news outlets and bombarded viewers with an avenue for ludicrous entertainment and maxim-coated, ideological nonsense, rather than providing the transmission of thought-provoking, enlightening news.
BAD MEDIA MAKES WAY FOR PUNDITRY
While the ceaseless torrent of false information makes headlines, and the petty arguments between hosts of both right and left wing media outlets replace journalism, the space for crucial political discourse continues to become increasingly narrow, marred by propaganda and entertainment disguised as news.
There are limited sources we can depend upon for clarity, consistency, and truth—- most of them overshadowed by the corporate owned media conglomerate. The fate of journalism, unfiltered and independent, will rely on policy decisions that reflect our right to be informed and engaged citizens, decisions that aid the critical work of journalists to be the voices of justice and veracity.
