By the People, For the People

Image Source: http://www.salem-news.com/stimg/may242008/corporate_media.jpg

If you open the Facebook app on your phone, as I'm sure most if not all of us have, you'll see a variety of news stories shared by friends, family, and sponsored sources. Facebook is a wonderful tool, don't get me wrong, and it brings information to the masses in a way that I never experienced as a teenager, but it is stuffed full of inaccurate news. When gay marriage was legalized in the United States I went to Facebook first to see what the Supreme Court ruling had been, knowing many in the community would be posting on my feed. Many "friends" on my Facebook page post news stories from sites I can't even take seriously, so I don't bother clicking. Other websites I'm not so sure about, and I have to be careful. Sometimes it's overwhelming and hard to know if I'm reading "fake news" or not. If I want to know about the big things, the headlines, I can turn on any news channel and they'll be covering it ad nauseam. Mainstream media does have it's uses but like many things that are cooperate owned, the needs of the people are not foremost, profit is.
     Journalists have an obligation to inform the public, not fill them with nonsense, but unfortunately many cannot keep their jobs at larger news outlets if they report outside of the narrative. I don't have cable, so if I want to find out about something beyond the headlines I have to make an effort and am choosy about what I listen to and watch. I enjoy listening to NPR which so far has been publicly funded, as well as The Young Turks, also publicly funded. NPR reports on a wide range of topics including international events, world politics, economics, agriculture, social problems, and many more subjects.  On NPR's radio program they host respectful discussions with guests holding many different view points, but they also ask the tough questions. Just this morning I was listening to their Friday morning addition and Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah was being interviewed. Despite the journalists attempt to question Chaffetz, he consistently redirects the question.  I believe that many journalists are remiss to dig deep, either because they feel pressure from their cooperate owners, they have to pay the bills after all, or they've become complacent. There is a sense of hopelessness to a degree that the public will ever get an honest answer to a question from a politician, or from a source of media, no matter how hard a journalist tries. The Young Turks takes a more aggressive journalistic stance on reporting then NPR does, a different style if you will, and they make it an effort to get to the truth. Although their content is meant to be entertaining to appeal to a wide range of audiences, it doesn't compromise the information being put out there. I used to think that a news station was better if it was "balanced" but there is a big difference between hearing both sides of an argument so as to appear neutral, and actually trying to present the truth. I don't need my news media to be Republican or Democrat, Independent or Libertarian, I need it to be honest, and so does the rest of the public.

Sources and interesting videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I49V9pdeVY4
 https://tytnetwork.com/2017/02/16/tyt-keeping-the-establishment-accountable/
 http://www.npr.org/2017/02/24/516983730/rep-chaffetz-says-town-hall-protesters-intimidate-and-bully-people
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