Thursday's discussion about war media/coverage resonated with me especially because I am a journalism major. Now, while I HATE when people preface a comment with "well, since I'm a *insert major here* major..." blah blah blah, I'm going to begin similarly but not quite the same.
Being involved in journalism for some time now has gotten me to think critically about how we use media. Most people would agree that the media as a whole is corrupted. By corrupted, I really mean geared toward specific audiences and aimed for advertising and making money instead of the truth. With bigger corporations, I think this is true. Stations like Fox and MSNBC really focus on one audience. While reporting on true events the actual facts get so twisted by not only who sponsors them but also by opinion. Our job as journalists/reporters/etc. is the recall events TRUTHFULLY. It may not seem fair sometimes but if it's factual then there is technically no fault. We get so caught up in the editorial aspect of news that we feel forced to take sides instead of just report. I understand that it's Rachel Maddow's and Glenn Beck's job to air their his/her opinion but that's not OUR job. We need to keep coverage truthful and real. Not try to sugarcoat things because that's what America "wants" to see and/or hear. We need to truth. It may be ugly, but we need it.
On a lighter note, this is the main reason why I'd rather report sports. I get to talk about my opinion and there's not really any room to make things up or sugar coat things. If a team loses, they lose. No reason to falsify or construe it.
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