Mainstream Media in a Democracy

Every citizen in their given country has the chance to vote and elect these representatives and people in power. Power can also be held directly by the people themselves as well. In a democracy, there is a belief of freedom and equality amongst the people as well as a system that is put in place based on these beliefs.

Explain role of media in a democracy: The role of media in democracy has grown immensely in the last couple of years because of how popular social media and media in general has become. Media in a democracy can help educate voters, report, and can help explore someone's interest. Because democracy needs citizens and the people to be actively participating, the media plays the role of keeping these people/citizens engaged in the government by informing, educating, reporting, and gathering the public. Media is the backbone of a democracy as it help shapes our views and makes us aware of the various social, political, and economic situations whether it shows us the bare truth or harsh realities of the world.

Thesis statement: Mainstream media in the United States today supports American democracy by giving everyone an opportunity to express their right of freedom of speech and giving people the right to send and deliver (communicate) these messages without being oppressed by authorities.

Body 1:

One way in which mainstream media supports american democracy (What is it doing right): Everyone in the United States has the right to freedom of speech. In this democratic state, each and every citizen has the opportunity to express these thoughts, feelings, ideas with words, symbols,actions and freedom. The media certainly gives the people this opportunity where they can do and say whatever they want to help report, educate and gather the community and audience they are reaching out to. These media platforms could include: radio, social media, online newspapers/articles, and television. For example, on social media platforms, people can go on there and publicly express their thoughts and feelings and give their opinions without any permission. Apps like facebook, instagram, snapchat, and twitter all give the user a freedom to say and do whatever they want on the platform.

- one option to improve the role of the media to strengthen democracy

While these forms of social media signify what freedom of speech and expression look like, one way in which we can improve the democracy is for social media platforms like the ones stated above as well as television broadcast such as Fox News and CNN need to stop controlling what people will see whether it’s sponsored, censored, or biased. Because you get the right to free speech, a lot of it can be negative. To support the equality aspect of a democracy especially in America, social media platforms, radio, and news broadcast should really track down on hate speech and any speech that violates the 1st amendment and democracy in America.

Body 2:

One way in which mainstream media supports american democracy whether your posting something on social media, communicating with the people through radio, or being able to show your interests and views through television news and online news sources, you can say and do what you want while communicating these messages without being oppressed by authorities.

- one option to improve the role of the media to strengthen democracy Another way to help improve media to strengthen democracy based off communicating messages without being oppressed by authorities would be to show more equality. There seems to be a major way in which authorities treat people and what messages they try to communicate and convey between social media and the outside world. For example, someone in social media could aggressively voice their thoughts and opinions and no one stops them but in the real world, like at rallies and protests, authorities seem to treat citizens with harsher treatment then through an electronic. Democracy is all about giving the people a freedom of speech and equality and although the freedom of speech is there, equality needs to be worked on. Whether its cracking down on the hate speech in social media and authorities treating it the same way as rallies and protests or having it the other way around, one or the other needs improving to help keep this democracy strong and moving forward.

Analyze how effectively the american media is fulfilling the role of the free press in a democracy

Based on the two arguments above, American media is effectively fulfilling the role of free press in this democracy.

Counterargument: Although there are many ways in which mainstream media for the majority supports american democracy, there are some ways in which it can go against democracy. For example, certain media platforms such as social media as well as online articles/newspapers limits what viewers see because of the side that they support politically. In other words, mainstream media should be a place where people can easily go too to find news without any source supporting one side more than the other and being very bias. It should be a place where people go to express and voice their thoughts, opinions, and ideas without being told to pick and choose a side. In the text We the People, author(s) Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore J. Lowi, Margaret Weir, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Robert J. Spitzer, mention how the media can influence the public opinion by choosing what they present and how they present it. They claim that “the media can shape and modify, if not fully form, the public’s perception of events, issues, and institutions. Media coverage can rally support for, or intensify opposition to, national policies on matters as weighty as health care, the economy, and international wars” (Ch 6, Page 189). Like i’ve mentioned previously, to support an american democracy, the press gets a right of freedom of speech and they get to post what they want without being oppressed by authorities. Yes they are still doing this but at the same time some are coming out with complete bias statements and sometimes false news or in Donald Trump’s words “Fake News”. This goes against democracy as some media outlets are abusing their freedom to say whatever they want to shape public opinion whether it's right or wrong. In the end though, the democracy is still being supported by mainstream media as every person gets to do and say whatever they want to say without being punished for it.

Conclusion: Mainstream media has played a huge role in today's society and politics as it is a way where citizens can go to voice their thoughts and opinions as well as politicians use it as a platform to get their name and message/agendas out there.

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