“Analyzing the Media’s Role in the Political Process” By Matthew Lynch, Ed.D., Huffington Post, January 11, 2011.
Summary: This article states that the media is supposed to be a tool for advancing democracy in the United States. The media, especially the mainstream media of television and radio has been used by politicians to reach out to the masses and sell them their policies. The media in addition to advancing the interests of the politicians and the government also plays the role of checking the excesses of the government in terms of expenditure and other actions directed toward the citizens (Lynch, Matthew par 1). If the government interferes or infringes on the rights of the citizens, the media are there to admonish and put the government in line. The political class has an uneasy relationship with the media, as it has the capacity to either promote the politicians’ agenda or have them fade in terms of significance to the citizens.
Unit Concepts: freedom of the media is provided for in the Second Amendment of the constitution of the United States. This freedom is applied to ensure that the press is free from government interference in the dissemination of information and also that the information passed on to the citizens is objective and factual.
Despite the role that the media have played over the years in the determination of the leadership in the united states, it has lost relevance to a certain degree in 2016. This is with reference to the polling results of the United States 2016 presidential elections. The media had predicted that Hillary Clinton was the one who would prevail in the elections. The media were shocked when the citizens voted for Donald Trump, a newbie in politics. Trump was vilified by the media during the campaign period. He was referred to as a racist, misogynist, ignorant, and dangerous to the economic well-being of Americans (Lambert, Brian par 4). Americans ignored the messages and warnings made by the media and voted for Trump anyway. Questions: 1) This raises the question of whether Americans have lost faith in the mainstream media. 2) Were the media wrong in vilifying Donald Trump while praising Hillary Clinton at the same time? 3) Did social media and the internet replace the role of the mainstream media in politics?