Every four years, the decision as to who will become the President of the United States comes down to one thing; which states are blue, and which states are red. Each state gets a certain number of votes, based on the number of Congressmen for that state. States with more people living in them get more votes. The candidate who receives the most electoral votes, as long as their total exceeds fifty percent, wins the election.
The colors that appear on the big maps of the United States on televisions across America are not arbitrary. The blue and red represent America’s two leading political parties, the Democrats, or liberals, and the Republicans, or conservatives, respectively.
Distinctions between the two parties stretch into every corner of policy. Democrats support welfare programs, while Republicans believe that the American people should be responsible for themselves. Democrats are pro-choice, Republicans are pro-life. Democrats support high taxes to build revenue for the federal government, while Republicans argue supply-side economics, in which the people keep their money with the hope that it will stimulate the economy. Something that both sides share, however, is a desire to see their party in power and the other one as the minority voice. Another striking similarity is the way in which each party controls media outlets. The media, as viewed by the citizens of the nation, is the reason that, come November, some states will be blue and others red. But throughout the entire year, some media entities will be blue, and others will be red.
Fox News is red, CNN is blue. The Wall Street Journal is red; The New York Times is blue. Nearly every form of media, from The Baltimore Sun to the Bellarion leans one way or the other. Every story is spun by producers, journalists and editors until news transforms from fact into opinion. Then these opinions are broadcasted to people who already share the opinions of those distributing them. Because when given the option between hearing what one wants to hear presented as news, and hearing something that one disagrees with presented as news, human beings will almost exclusively take the former. This is the most dangerous for citizens of the United States during elections.
America’s system of election is based on the assumption that the people will choose the most suitable person for the task at hand. But this is predicated on the public receiving honest information regarding the candidates and their platforms, as well as their character. Honest reporting of fact is the service that the media is charged with providing. If the media is allowed to twist the facts report to the public, then the public may not be in the best position to make an informed decision. This is very dangerous for the nation, and the world as a whole, considering the influence our nation has.
The solution seems simple enough; end the bias and coerce the producers of mass media into reporting only truth. The complication is that producers of mass media have become the sellers of mass media. American citizens pay to be told what they want to hear. Millions tune in to watch the evening news every night, knowing that the side of any given story they hear will be the side they choose to hear. This eliminates undecided voters. More and more people are making their decision before the National Conventions even take place. Journalism and broadcast journalism are businesses, and individual firms within a business seek only to maximize their profit. Roger Ailes, the president of Fox News, believes that he can make the most profit by selling the news the way his target audience wishes to hear it. Jim Walton, the president of CNN, believes the exact same thing. They also know that advertisers will pay to have their ads reach the audience they are targeting. If an advertiser can predict exactly the type of audience who will be watching or reading the news through a certain outlet, this makes their job easier, eliminating guess work. Bias will continue to creep into every area of the media as long as the business of bias remains a profitable one.
No media outlet is without bias entirely. The truth the public will perceive is at the will of the writer. The most effective way for an American citizen to stay informed and know that the information they are receiving is fact is to hear both sides of every story. Knowing only one side of an issue creates ignorance and conflict. While universal healthcare isn’t the miracle solution that leftists proclaim it to be, it is also a system which almost every developed nation in the world has to some degree, and attempting to bring that system to the United States does not make Barack Obama a socialist, as right-wing protestors seem to think. The federal government needs to be allowed to regulate business, but too much regulation stifles even the most successful enterprises. Media bias dams the flow of information regarding the elections biggest issues, creating an ignorant America, which poses a bigger danger than any terrorist group, dictator or politician ever could. For democracy to truly function at its highest level, voters need to be informed by unbiased outlets, allowing them to make their decisions based truly on policy and the facts, instead of their crucial decisions being tainted by the poison of media bias.