Appreciation of Power

As early as September 2002, Judith Miller, a Pulitzer Prize winner who was at the time a journalist for the New York Times, reported that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. For months afterword, she, along with many, many other media outlets, continued to publish reports that claimed that Iraq had WMD's, and were seeking to use them. These reports, along with testimonies given by the government, were the driving forces in selling an invasion of Iraq to the American people. And it worked.

My point isn't that the people were lied to, or that the United States invasion of Iraq was wrong. I am simply trying to point out the power that the mass media has, and what the government can do with it when able to harness it. As we have found out today, the information Judith Miller and dozens, if not hundreds, of other journalists were given proved highly inaccurate and, at times, sensational. Sources such as Ahmed Chalabi proved uninformed, and even CIA employees, who one would think would be at least honest in their reports, admitted to falsifying information for various reasons. But they were the ones being used to create stories. The government may or may not have known the truth behind all of the 'facts', but they certainty worked with the mass media to get the point across. They leaked information to the press and even provided information, all in the aim of it leading to a story in support of desired government action.

To me, the reality of the situation was and is simple: the majority will believe what they are told on the news. It is how most get their information. The average American doesn't have the time and/or desire to properly inform themselves about their government and its affairs, so they look to the news. They can find out in twenty minutes what is going on and how they should feel about it. People are impressionable and often naive, and they believe that what they hear on television, read in a newspaper, or hear on a social media website is the truth. Unfortunately, much like this case, it isn't always that way. While the media has a responsibility to its viewers/readers to report honest news, it is never guaranteed or even desired. The people are in fact found at its will. The media can play an important role in the 'democratic process', as we've talked about in our class, by accurately informing people with largely unbiased news, or it can play the people, possibly even being used by the government to get its agenda across. The best lesson that can be learned is that we, as responsible citizens, must appreciate the power the media posses, and do our best to offset it. While we should desire an honest and informative mass media, we should also do our best to inform ourselves and read between the lines, letting our opinions and views be based on solid info.

The media is an important tool in the democratic process found here in this country, and can be used in a very positive way to inform oneself on current events. However, it should not be taken for granted that the information it provides is always 100% factual. If so, it can cause a real problem, leading to the possible manipulation of the people and the way that they support/disapprove of their government. Its in the people's best interest to avoid that.