The Media Is Pimping Out Politics... Becuase We Let Them!

In Monday's edition of the Hatchet, Brandon Polmer wrote an Op-Ed, Is the media pimping out politics? As the title implies, Polmer takes a critical view of the media, particularly cable TV, and argues that far too often, commentators insert their personal opinions into would should be objective journalism.

Polmer is critical of the viewing public, who give credence to "these morons" (his word, not mine) by watching them, but admits that he continues to watch aw well. At the surface, that statement seems inconsistent – if someone knows that something is inaccurate, why give it tacit approval to it by watching it. However, when one considers it deeper, the truth becomes obvious. For all its faults, the MSM (Mainstream Media) is still to most readily accessible source for information for the majority of people. Most of us have real lives, real jobs, and real responsibilities, and do not have time to pour through information to decipher for ourselves what the fundamental truth is. As a result, we rely on the media to do that for us. TV is the most efficient mechanism for doing that. It is much quicker to catch the first ten minutes of the Today Show than to read through all the blogs and other "alternative" sources of information, which have their own biases as well. Now, I readily admit that just watching Anne Curry does not leave one well informed, but for many that is all they have time for. This puts a great deal of responsibility on the MSM to seek objective truth.

I can understand why people watch TV, and agree can also agree with Polmer that the media is not as objective as it needs to be. Unfortunately, most people do not have the time or initiative to mount a challenge to bias in journalism by seeking other ways of getting news. Until we are all willing to ignore the talking heads on TV, they will continue to enjoy a unique influence on the viewing sheep.