She Said, He Said: The Role of the Media

The following is the third entry in “She Said, He Said,” a new series of articles seeking to compare and contrast the various views, political, social or otherwise, of Millennials in today’s world. Elizabeth Lane is a 2016 Carson-Newman University graduate with a BA in Creative Writing, and has worked at the Jefferson County Post as a journalist and feature writer since shortly before her graduation. Jake Depew is a 2014 Carson-Newman University graduate with a BS in Philosophy. He is the assistant editor and a columnist for the Jefferson County Post, and is the Editor for the Gatlinburg Daily Post.

This article’s question: “What is the role of the media in 2017?”

Elizabeth Lane

She Said:

It is no secret that media plays a crucial role in all of our daily lives. We scroll through Facebook and other social media sites, we watch the local and national news, and read the newspaper; it seems everywhere we turn we are inundated with all kinds of opinions and information. This should be a good thing, but there are those in office that want to change the role of the media.

I will not lie. I know that not all media is good media. Some journalists have bad reputations and squander the trust of the public by giving out false information and half-truths. This has happened dozens of times, and no doubt will happen again. This leads to a serious relationship of mistrust between the media and the general public. Not to mention the current administration of President Trump and his blatant and very public mistrust of the media. He wants to change the role of the media, and that can mean that you and I are set to get our information in a very different way than we have been used to.

This is somewhat frightening, given the fact that watching and participating in media allows us to know what is going on, not only in our own cities, but in the world around us, and that isn’t always pleasant. Here we are given the stories and empowered with information. From this information we should take what we have been given with a grain of salt and then form our own options about the matter. This is what the media was made for: to inform the citizens and allow them to make their own choices.

What will we do when those choices have been limited and reduced to only a handful of options? Will the news still be balanced, or will we be blind to the other half of the picture? It would be wrong to form an option based on only half a truth. I suppose that if we were curious enough about a subject that we could take to the internet and search out further sources. But what happens to the people that cannot, or simply will not, take the time to search out further answers?

They will be forced to take information that has been available to them and nothing else. This reminds me of the heat that Facebook recently took over their news stories that appeared to show up in their users feed because the company itself might have been manipulating the feed and stories. Think about it: Facebook was giving people only the most popular stories that they wanted people to know about. What about the issues that have been forgotten? Did people not deserve to hear about those?

The other thing that many people are quickly finding out is that some of the supposed news stories on social media turn out to just be fake. We live in a world where there apparently aren’t already enough horrible things going on that we have to generate fake news to pacify people. This is astounding. Millions think that the stories are real and never take the time to research. This leaves the fake news unchecked and gives it reign to spread on.

Needless to say, no matter what happens in the next four years, or the next two weeks, always stay current with what is going on in the world. Media should inform, and it is your right to be an informed citizen. If you are unsure about a story or topic, do your own research, investigate angles that the media ignores. Get out there and find answers when something doesn’t add up. No one else will do it for you.

Jake Depew

He Said:

“The role of the media.” That’s a concept being investigated a lot, nowadays. I’m always confused when people talk about how the role of the media is changing. To be clear, by “media,” I’m referring to news organizations. We live in a time where people are more distrustful of the national news syndicates than ever, and for good reason. Finding out CNN and Fox have unabashedly manipulated and slanted their “stories” is an almost daily occurrence. In light of this, has the role of the media changed?

No. No, it hasn’t. Last time I checked, the role of news organizations was to tell people what happened in the world. That’s it. Frankly, it’s a little disturbing that we apparently stopped expecting these groups to do so. I don’t need an awkward television host telling me what words in a speech were important. Report the news, editorialize in your editorials and columns, and call it done. Looking around at people’s reactions to national news coverage in 2017, it seems like the role of the media is perfectly safe.

Maybe we just actually expect that role to be fulfilled.

Social media services introduce a strange new element to the mix. Millions of people get their national news from social media, rather than television. Facebook has been repeatedly attacked for playing favorites and choosing which stories to share with people based on political bias. As far as this issue goes, I don’t really care. It’s really no different than a large politically-slanted television syndicate picking and choosing what they report. What’s interesting about social media is that news can be gathered directly from the source, in a way. Donald Trump can tweet directly to us! I don’t know whether to celebrate or fling myself from my second story window. Aside from all the caustic/hilarious implications such a direct feed can have, many people are rejoicing that we now have a “Twitter president,” reveling in the fact that “Now, these news groups can’t distort what we hear!”

There’s just one problem with this approach: you are still relying on a single, self-interested source for your news. Nothing has changed. You think Donald Trump isn’t going to say he’s the victim in every scenario that doesn’t go his way? You should never get your news from one source. If you don’t actively seek information on your own from multiple places, then you are asking to be misled. Misinformation may be a mistake, it may be a natural bias setting in, or it may be something more sinister. Regardless, you suffer for it. All a “Twitter president,” gets us is yet another source to fact check. The role of the media has not changed. The media is still supposed to report the truth, and the whole truth, and that will always be the role of the media. Expectations change, and I hope ours have. To the national news syndicates out there, I know it is a scary time. But you’ll survive if you are the first group to adapt, and I have just the strategy for you.

Do your job.