Media fails to cover student opinions

By Lindsay Taub

There is a serious problem with the local media in Los Angeles.
Most of the time, the lead stories are not news. No one can ever
convince me that Dennis Rodman’s drunk driving arrest or Brad
Pitt’s wedding should be the number one story.

Yes, I agree that there is a large market for entertainment
news. But this does not belong on respectable network news programs
like ABC or NBC news; rather, it belongs on the other shows
specifically designed for this purpose, such as Entertainment
Tonight and Access Hollywood.

We live in an extremely large city where crime is inevitable.
And while I agree that this is news, we the people have had our
fill of “shooting in South Central Los Angeles today,
possible gang members are suspects …” We know this happens
““ it is a reality of our existence here in L.A. But is it
really necessary to bombard us with this when there are plenty of
other stories in and around the area that the media chooses to
ignore based on their misconception of what the people want to
know?

What happened to real news? Sometimes what is important does not
come with shots of huge flames or grieving relatives.

I bring this up because of something frustrating that occurred
Wednesday morning. I am a senior at UCLA. I have been actively
working for the Youth Vote 2000 Campaign. In one week alone, we
registered over 1,000 students to vote in the upcoming election. We
held a noon press conference on October 11th on campus to emphasize
the importance of the youth vote in the upcoming election and to
discuss the issues important to us as students and young
Americans.

  Illustration by AMY HABER/Daily Bruin In fact, a
coalition of over 6 student groups participated, including CALPIRG
(California Public Interest Research Group), Bruin Democrats, the
Undergraduate Students Association Council, the Gay and Lesbian
Association, and Bruin PAC. Many minority student groups supported
the event as well. Each group had a representative speak about
their individual concerns, opinions, and generally emphasize the
fact that we have a voice that needs to be heard in the political
arena.

It was well-organized and went smoothly, despite the minor
setback of rain. Many students gathered to listen to their fellow
classmates speak. A press advisory was faxed to all the local media
““ radio, print, and television ““ and phone calls were
made to follow-up. The only media that showed up was UCLA’s
Daily Bruin and USC’s TV/Radio Station. What is wrong
here?

There was a presidential debate on Wednesday night and earlier
in the day, UCLA students expressed their views and concerns and
discussed the issues by which we are judging the candidates. But
did the media pay attention? No, not at all.

Yet many news programs featured a panel of voters after the
debate, clearly revealing that the media does believe that people
want to hear what other voters are saying. So why didn’t they
cover the students?

These orchestrated news shows with voters were over-produced,
much like the recent Olympics. Our local media missed the exciting
spontaneity of real people in a real setting on campus talking
openly about their feelings and thoughts.

College students will be voting and we will play a tremendous
role in this next election. I think the public would be interested
to know how we feel. It would probably be comforting to hear that
the so-called “next generation” is paying attention and
attempting to get their voices heard.

For example, do the people at CBS (L.A.’s self-declared
“station of the people”) know what issues are most
important to young people, ages 18-30? Do they care? I have some
“news” for you, CBS: we are your people.

I believe students and young people will make educated choices
come November 7, based on real issues rather than a popularity
contest. We are on a campus every day that is dedicated to research
and higher education. We have the most up-to-date resources on
environmental pollution, including studies that show how our
health, especially that of children, is effected by air pollution,
not to mention the concern that global warming rates are increasing
all the time.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush stated in one of the debates that the
research had not confirmed global warming strongly enough to
require implementation of an environmental protection program
immediately. I have one question ““ what kind of proof do you
need? No more ozone at all?

Furthermore, we are the generation that was most recently in
over-crowded high schools, with a lack of funding and the fear of
violence every day, so we know the need for change in education is
vital. We are also the next generation to start families, raising
other concerns with taxes and social security.

I have another question. Does Gov. Bush really think we can be
trusted to invest our own money into a savings plan that will serve
as social security? What makes him think that we trust the stock
market enough to do that?

We students are not rich people and our money cannot be risked
in something so unstable, uncertain and unfamiliar to many
students. We are also the generation that is about to enter the
working world, so we have concerns of getting proper health
coverage, since many of our peers cannot afford it right after
graduation. And many of us have family in other countries, so we
are concerned about foreign policy.

We are concerned for our basic human rights as well, so
ultimately the composition of the Supreme Court will have a direct
consequence on our lives at a local, state, and national level. We
realize this and are thinking about the candidates very
seriously.

The bottom line is this: there is a lot to deal with as a young
person in today’s world. While our generation tends to be
somewhat idealistic, we are also very realistic. We are paying
attention to these debates and we want the candidates to know our
concerns.

We are evaluating their positions and our votes will be given
accordingly. Although it may be apparent which candidate I
personally am supporting, I do know students who favor the other
candidate, as well as students who feel they should vote
independently to make a “statement.” Still, there are
those who are apathetic to the political process. I disagree with
this, but sadly, it is happening.

I believe the public wants to know about how students feel, and
they should know. But what I see is the media giving their own
biased opinions, and often telling the viewers how to think. Not
only did the media miss out on a great story about student
opinions, but I believe it also lost our support. They had a chance
to do a “real” story ““ what news is meant to be
““ and instead we heard the “same old same
old.”

It is no wonder the network news is in trouble. So, in the style
of Regis Philbin, I ask my final question: what will your final
answer be? Is the media doing their job in serving the public
interest?