In America we value the freedom of the press. The press is the one place where most Americans go to get educated on issues facing their community, state, and most of all nation. Everyone knows that the media plays a major role in Americans’ lives; however their role of gatekeeper is not completely understood. The press decides which issues to report and how to report them. In order to improve the nation and world, the media should present their unbiased findings to allow people to make up their own minds. However, this is not the case. The media often shows its bias. Their widespread exposure enables them to communicate their ideas to the public, regardless of the public’s responsiveness. The elections of officials for the federal government during the late 20th century serve as prime examples of their bias. An analysis of surveys, media delivery, and reporter’s testimonies, I have found that the media is actually more out of touch with mainstream America than the politicians they cover. The media affects American interest towards politics by only showing the people what they want them to see. Even if there are many issues in a campaign, the media will focus on the one’s they believe to be the most important. Other issues maybe completely ignored. Hence people become interested only in certain areas of politics since they hear about them very often. There is usually a much greater turnout when voting for the president than voting for a Senator. This is mainly because the media covers a presidential race much more closely. Americans focus on what the media frequently shows us rather than the little heard of issues of greater importance. A large number of people do not follow local elections mainly because they do not hear about it on the six o’clock news. I think that many Americans do not even know their Senators’ or House Representatives’ name. On the other hand, it would be very difficult to...
