Poor coverage of vital issues leaves public uninformed

Friday, March 6, 1998

Poor coverage

of vital issues leaves public uninformed

MEDIA:

By Dave Middleton

There have been various studies conducted lately, including one
recently published in The Daily Bruin, which point to the fact that
political apathy among college students is at unprecedented
heights. When we are compared with other industrial countries it
becomes apparent how pathetically uninformed the American public
really is. It is this very lack of education that allows us to feel
distanced from politics today. I believe that the media’s failure
to educate the American public is the primary reason for this rise
of political disenchantment. We, as citizens, pay a high cost for
our lack of knowledge. Because if Americans are not educated about
issues of importance we forfeit any control or influence we may
have on the world around us.

In our fast-paced society our primary way to learn about world
and local events is through the media. We can only educate
ourselves to a point. Therefore, it is the media’s duty to help us
become politically and socially educated. It is obvious that we are
reliant on the media’s assistance, which is becoming less available
and less effective. Instead of enlightening us, the media seems
content to merely amuse us.

It is far too simple to see that the media focuses on some
issues while ignoring others. In this way the media fails us.
Simply look at Los Angeles network news. What the hell are we
watching? Television news is far more bent on entertaining its
viewers than educating them. We are not provided with an accurate
portrayal of the important events of the day. We are instead fed a
highlights reel of car crashes, explosions, disasters and other eye
candy. We don’t know what is going on in the world around us
because of the media’s focus on largely irrelevant issues. We don’t
hear about anything of importance unless it has entertainment
value. Henceforth, everyone’s eyes are glued to the television news
watching the latest car-chase footage. The only people who benefit
from this are those who get to advertise their "Best Police Chases"
video during the commercial break. I’ll be the first to admit that
this footage is pretty entertaining. But, we may as well be
watching cartoons because this coverage provides us with little
substance. Television news provides us with virtually no
information, which would enable us to become better citizens.

Scandals have now become the media’s focus. Don’t even get me
started talking about the Clinton-Monica Lewinsky coverage. The
depiction of "Zippergate" has been nothing short of a daytime soap
opera. The media seems to have an undying thirst to find out every
detail about the private lives of our politicians to an
extraordinary extent. We hear more about the president’s sexual
escapades than we do about his policy decisions. By focusing on
these issues what type of public discourse is the media
encouraging? How is a parent supposed to respond to junior, who
after hearing a local news broadcast, asks, "Mommy, mommy. What’s
oral sex mean?" The media even has the power to set the discourse
of our children.

The Daily Bruin itself, although clearly less sensationalistic
than many other papers, is at times as guilty as the rest of the
media for its lack of prioritization and focus on important issues.
Is it appropriate to do a front-page story about an individual who
claims to have known and spoken with Monica Lewinsky, even if he is
in the UCLA community? Just in case the media hadn’t already
dragged her private life through the mud enough, in this article,
the readers were provided with more insight into Monica’s
character. Especially enlightening were Monica’s supposed comments
about her relationship with Clinton. In her words, Clinton and
herself were "Fuck buddies." This was important news that we Bruins
needed to know.

When we examine what material the media focuses on it is also
important that we consider what coverage they are failing to
provide us with. Television news failed to provide us with an
adequate understanding of the recent crisis in the Persian Gulf.
Most of us don’t understand the international implications of a war
with Iraq. We weren’t given an adequate account of the many
complexities that have led to this standoff. Instead of better
informing us the media would rather present us with the American
people’s opinion of whether or not we should go to war. The
American public on the whole is as poorly informed as you and I.
Therefore, should we base our opinions on theirs?

Further, it is important to understand that the media’s lack of
focus on key issues causes political disenchantment. News must fit
within certain spatial and temporal confines. Most television news
broadcasts last for either a half-hour or a full hour unless a
breaking scandal cuts into your favorite programming. Simply put,
when the media focuses on issues such as the O.J. Simpson trial,
the tragic death of Princess Di, the abuse of Pamela Lee, Eddie
Murphy’s late night joy-rides, Monica Lewinsky’s Oral Office
duties, Lorena Bobbit’s cutlery skills or Tanya Harding’s
competitive edge, there just isn’t enough time or room for
discussion about issues which are essential to improve our nations
civic knowledge. By its coverage of largely irrelevant stories and
its ignoring of other issues, the media sadly influences what
people view as important news.

These modern media trends lead to a public with little control
over their government. Our attention diverted by unimportant
issues, we cannot contribute to our country’s political process.
This allows our elected officials to make decisions without
consulting the public, hence, undermining democracy. When the power
to make decisions rests in the hands of select government officials
rather than in the hands of the American public we have forfeited
the very rights which we have fought to protect.