by Lucas Brooks

Created on: May 23, 2008

The American mind is driven by two things: What he said, and what she said. With that in mind, it is no literal surprise that the media of today's society controls politics as much as it does. In fact, it is a surprise that it does not control it more. Without the slanted media (a form of media that gives opinions along with facts), people would be forced to ascertain and form political opinions on their own, without the use of someone else's prescribed beliefs attached alongside. The field of politics would dramatically change before our very eyes, revealing it for what it truly is.

"How does media affect the general populace in recognition to politics, though"? Media affects politics in the way of a slant. For instance, if the media thinks that it could benefit itself by printing a story that talks about ending a war, they can use their sway over the populace to easily get their point across and turn national opinion against the war effort. A good example of what happens when the media is included to a lesser extent would be the Persian Gulf War, in which media was kept to bare bones information, thus limiting any damaging stories they could print or air. This created a more beneficial environment, unlike previous wars when they were given fair game.

Continuing on, media also has it effects when it comes to promoting presidential candidates. If a host of a radio show that people like believes that Clinton should win the election because she is the best bet for our country, people would form that opinion because he said it, not because they actually looked into the information for themselves. If they actually looked into it for themselves, they would see she is nothing more then a socialist masquerading as our nation's hope. Eyes would be opened.

Fortunately, it is the way our country works that allows for this to happen. That is right the media being able to influence things is a very good thing. The fault does not lie on them, for they are merely using their freedom of speech to influence the masses. The fault lies on the people for not taking their God-given responsibility to govern themselves in a respectable manner and form their opinions on their own. So yes, the media does influence politics, and although what they choose to support may not always be the best things for our nation, they are free to support whom and what they wish. That is what makes our nation great the ability to choose.

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