All critiques are appreciated.
Choose an issue of importance to you-the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope-and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.
Ignorance is Not Bliss
Ignorance of important issues is prevalent in our country today. Many people do not understand nor wish to understand the issues facing our country. How has the American public become so apathetic and ignorant towards issues that affect them? I believe the answer lies in journalism. Unlike any other time history, journalism today is so fixated on sensationalism that the goal of most journalists is not to inform the public objectively, but rather to find and relay controversial stories subjectively. Coverage of the past presidential election in particular has been proof of the "flair over substance" mentality of most news outlets.
Though sensationalism has always been a part of journalism, it has never so completely taken over journalism. News stations today are dominated by irrelevant segments, opinionated talk shows and "pundits" aimed at finding any controversy they can, true or not. Moreover, with today's technology this news is reaching farther, wider and faster than ever. Scandals, slanderous attacks and statements and other irrelevant news stories are now more available to the public than ever before. An average person today is more likely to know the details of the General Petraeus affair than the details of how our healthcare works. As a result, it has become almost the norm to talk about and listen to scandals and political slander rather than real issues. In fact, our culture has become so used to sensational news coverage that when real issues come into play, we are practically numb to them. This problem has not only contributed to the ignorance in our country, but has hindered the democratic process of citizenship and free speech. How can one use his voice to act as a good citizen, if one doesn't understand what's going on?
While some people like to blame this problem on one party or the other, Fox News being more aligned with the right or MSNBC being more aligned to the left, the problem is not partisan. The reason why sensationalism is imbedded in our media today is because it sells; it's what the American public wants and craves. America today is obsessed with sensationalism. Evidence of this obsession is in our taste of tv shows, movies, music and all other forms of entertainment. Unfortunately, the American public today would rather be entertained than informed.
As long as the American public has this obsession, are easily persuaded by sound bites and political slander, and the news media continues to use techniques of sensationalism and yellow journalism to increase viewers or newspaper sales, we will continue to dig ourselves into a hole of apathy towards important matters that define our political, economic and social state as a country and as people.
I want to be a part of country that understands what's going on in the world, understands the policies of our government, and understands the issues of our day. This understanding is the only way our population can become informed instead of ignorant, concerned instead of apathetic and active instead of lazy. How can we achieve this understanding? We need a new brand of journalism to emerge whose standards are not of ratings, but a vision independent of the public's sensational demand, and we need education of real issues in our country from an early age. Only then will Americans appreciate the news for what it was always meant to do as embodied in our Bill of Rights: inform the public through freedom of the press. This country needs and deserves to be informed because ignorance is not bliss.
Choose an issue of importance to you-the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope-and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.
Ignorance is Not Bliss
Ignorance of important issues is prevalent in our country today. Many people do not understand nor wish to understand the issues facing our country. How has the American public become so apathetic and ignorant towards issues that affect them? I believe the answer lies in journalism. Unlike any other time history, journalism today is so fixated on sensationalism that the goal of most journalists is not to inform the public objectively, but rather to find and relay controversial stories subjectively. Coverage of the past presidential election in particular has been proof of the "flair over substance" mentality of most news outlets.
Though sensationalism has always been a part of journalism, it has never so completely taken over journalism. News stations today are dominated by irrelevant segments, opinionated talk shows and "pundits" aimed at finding any controversy they can, true or not. Moreover, with today's technology this news is reaching farther, wider and faster than ever. Scandals, slanderous attacks and statements and other irrelevant news stories are now more available to the public than ever before. An average person today is more likely to know the details of the General Petraeus affair than the details of how our healthcare works. As a result, it has become almost the norm to talk about and listen to scandals and political slander rather than real issues. In fact, our culture has become so used to sensational news coverage that when real issues come into play, we are practically numb to them. This problem has not only contributed to the ignorance in our country, but has hindered the democratic process of citizenship and free speech. How can one use his voice to act as a good citizen, if one doesn't understand what's going on?
While some people like to blame this problem on one party or the other, Fox News being more aligned with the right or MSNBC being more aligned to the left, the problem is not partisan. The reason why sensationalism is imbedded in our media today is because it sells; it's what the American public wants and craves. America today is obsessed with sensationalism. Evidence of this obsession is in our taste of tv shows, movies, music and all other forms of entertainment. Unfortunately, the American public today would rather be entertained than informed.
As long as the American public has this obsession, are easily persuaded by sound bites and political slander, and the news media continues to use techniques of sensationalism and yellow journalism to increase viewers or newspaper sales, we will continue to dig ourselves into a hole of apathy towards important matters that define our political, economic and social state as a country and as people.
I want to be a part of country that understands what's going on in the world, understands the policies of our government, and understands the issues of our day. This understanding is the only way our population can become informed instead of ignorant, concerned instead of apathetic and active instead of lazy. How can we achieve this understanding? We need a new brand of journalism to emerge whose standards are not of ratings, but a vision independent of the public's sensational demand, and we need education of real issues in our country from an early age. Only then will Americans appreciate the news for what it was always meant to do as embodied in our Bill of Rights: inform the public through freedom of the press. This country needs and deserves to be informed because ignorance is not bliss.