First off, let us explore the media. When I say media, I am speaking of the news, the radio, and the internet in terms of how we are informed of political news. I think it is safe to say that we all know that Fox news tends to be the more conservative news program, and CNN the more liberal. The rest of the major news channels could be considered non- biased, but is there even such thing? No matter which station you are watching, the news will always be spun a different way. This makes it really hard for citizens to know what to believe. I think that each news channel needs to report politics how it is. Not spinning in different directions and no reporting on what they think is right. Just tell us the political news straight up, no gimmicks. If this could happen, we would all be better informed, know more about each position of anything political, and would be better educated to make decisions as voting citizens.
The internet is another way that many people get information about political candidates, policies, and just political issues going on in general. Much like the news stations, depending on which web browser you use, the headlines that pop up will be skewed. For example, AOL is said to be on the conservative side, Yahoo on the liberal side. With this being said, it is safe to say that if you read an article about, oh let’s just say President Obama, on AOL, it will most likely be from a conservative standpoint. So you might be thinking, well what about when I get my facts straight from an accredited political website or right from a candidates website. Well, it is still going to be skewed one way or another. Going to a candidate’s website is a great way to learn more about them and their stance on policies, but unless you visit each candidate’s website and really read about them, you will have a skewed version of politics yourself. Basically, it can be really hard to tell if you are getting a completely un biased approach to politics over the internet. I think I can assume that unless you want to sit down and read an entire bill or proposed bill, you might not be getting the whole truth.
NPR radio is something that a lot of people who are into politics listen to. If I had to pick the most unbiased way to get my political news this would be it. Generally, NPR has radio hosts from all sides of the political realm making it a pretty fair and well rounded way to get political news. However, this is much like the TV news stations. I am sure that most people who listen to NPR have a favorite show they like to listen to and the host of that show is probably in tune with their political affiliation. Therefore, when you listen to your favorite show on NPR, you are still only getting one point of view and opinions.
Ok so what about the candidates themselves? We should be able to trust what comes out of their mouths because there is no one to analyze it. Well how truthful are the candidates really? How truthful is congress really? I guess we might not really know. My wish is that we could see a candidate that is not being paid by big corporations. A candidate who is true to themselves and appears to have flaws like an actual human being. A candidate who actually stands for something. I am not trying to say that our presidents or candidates don't have their own opinions, but sometimes it is hard to know if they are being paid to say something, or if they truly believe in what they are saying. Even when a proposed bill such as health care is in the works, are we really being told about every angle of the approach? Is congress leaving anything out that would scare the citizens of the country?
This brings me to my final point. What if we just want to hear political news without all the mumbo jumbo? What if we want to hear what a candidate has to say without billions of dollars behind him or her? Where can we go? I wish I knew the answer and I wish that we could have a place to get the real information. The fact of the matter is, this will probably never change. As long as we are living in a world full of technology and money, things will most likely always be skewed. The best thing we can do is try to use multiple sources for our political news. This at least can enable us to know all perspectives and be extremely educated. I hope that one day we might be able to see a candidate that doesn't take bribes, or a news station that truly just reports on the news.
