The United States, as it exists today, is heavily influenced by the media especially during election years. Young Americans are the most susceptible to media influence as they are entering the political platform for the first time in their lives and seeking to define their own political identity. In this past election season there was a high demand for the “millennial vote”, millennials are young voters around the ages of 18 and 25 who have not yet cemented their support in one party or one candidate. The two front runners in this election, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, were able to use their media influence in order to achieve success which was highly attributed to their ability to appeal to younger voters. The media has the power to take any story and spin it in the way they see fit which is why the role of the media in today’s society has such a pivotal impact on our everyday lives. For example, media outlets such as Fox News or CNN are known for siding with a specific political party which alters the way they choose to report the news and even what stories they choose to run on air. Another Issue presented in today’s media climate is that of social media. Social media is a platform which gives a voice to any person with access to the internet and allows for uncensored communication of beliefs, opinions, and information. Because so many people rely on media platforms as a source of information and connection with the world around them it presents a problem within the system when bias and illegitimacy become factors in the way news is reported and received by the masses.

Many people in America are too trusting of the media for all the information they receive, and they allow themselves to be told what is and isn’t true by one source of news without ever researching beyond what they are told is the truth. Now more than ever before the world has access to so much information at the press of a button but so often we decide our opinions about something before taking the time to learn more about why things happen before accepting the information being presented to them. Meghan Gupta, a Ted talk youth speaker, presented an articulate report on media bias in the US especially as these reports pertain to terrorism overseas. At one point in her presentation she makes the claim that “Attacks in Africa, the middle east, and other developing countries are often swept under the rug simply for being too foreign”. (Gupta, 2:53, Youtube) The ability to pick and choose what stories to air and which to ignore exemplifies the dangers of media bias in today’s society. In fact, 90% of American media is controlled by six major corporations which are Comcast, Viacom, CBS, News core, Time Warner, and Disney. The CEO’s of these companies, as she points out, are all white men who are in an elite tax bracket granting validity to the idea of a white-washed media. The power of these media tycoons is not however limited to their own networks, in fact their influence spans far beyond the reach of their own networks and into the realm of something much more powerful, that being the realm of popular opinion.

When Al Jazeera, a popular news network focusing on the actions of worldwide terrorist groups especially in the middle east, began it was placed under harsh scrutiny by news networks that have already been established and held in high esteem by the American people. “Because Al Jazeera was exclusively focused on Arab related news American media executives demonized the network…In the end Al Jazeera disappeared from the American media at the behest of white executives who were afraid that the network was too Arab based”. (Gupta, 4:49, Youtube) The fact that our current system of media grants a select few people the ability to sway public opinion towards the ideas they agree with presents an issue in the way our current media climate operates. 

Another issue that is present in our nation’s current media climate is its omnipresent link to a political agenda. People are inherently influenced by their own beliefs and often times are unable to recognize bias in the actions of their own lives. In fact in a recent study by Jonathan Morris, a political science professor at East Carolina University, it was observed that, “Democrats are more likely to see a Republican bias in the news, and Republicans are more likely to see a bias toward Democrats”. (Morris, 2007) This fact, though it may seem obvious when it is presented to you, is too often not as noticeable as we would hope. Though it is true that most people often wish to ignore bias from their own side of the political spectrum it is important that we are more in tune to biases of our own beliefs as they can often be the most dangerous. If we never listen to viewpoints in opposition with our own, we will never be challenged to accept new ideas and will therefore be trapped in our own ignorance of other opinions.

Social media can be a useful tool but it also has the potential to mislead and confuse voters who choose to take everything they view on these platforms for fact. Social media has become an important part of our current media climate because of its ability to expand the platform on which ordinary people interact with the world. It grants everyone the opportunity to put their thoughts out to an entirely new audience that they would not otherwise be able to reach on their own. 