Media Literacy Read (pgs 85-107)

This particular reading contained mostly information that I already knew, however it was backed by a lot of statistical data (that will not be repeated here for a variety of reasons). News and the tabloids and celebrity entertainment shows are converging, the ratings matter more than the truth, stories receive airtime and newspaper pages based on how sensational they are, stories are biased toward corporate owners and major advertisers. These are a few examples of the travesty on display each and every day. Our public servants have turned into whores.

The saddest thing is that I don't believe that many of the journalists wanted it this way. One of my roomates is a journalism major and has sincere dreams of becoming an ethical journalist bringing pertinent news to that masses. He knows the shape of the current news media, and he wants to do things his way (which I would consider to be a lot better than the current trend), but that is likely out of reach. With an incredibly competitive job market, is he really going to be able to land a job and be heard when there are probably 50 others who can take his place and play by the rules? It would be optimistic to say "probably not." Its a vicious cycle, not likely to be broken anytime soon.