Vitality in the Truth

Daniela Powell, Reporter
August 23, 2018

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As a press, the sole purpose is to provide the public with a means to have a voice and get heard at the top of the chain, our government.

As an American democracy, we have expanded our rights to American people and our nation. Over history, events such as world War I, the Watergate Scandal, and the 911 terrorist attacks were able to be exposed to the world via our press. Tragedies occur every day, and no one would be aware until they saw it on a News Alert on TV or a newspaper. As a free nation, every president should accept the fact that that the press is a necessary component to have for a successful nation. Unfortunately our president today, Donald Trump, has attacked our only means of citizens expressing their voice. He has convinced a large part of our nation that the information the press leaks is fiction and aimed to attack the government negatively saying, “the news media is an enemy of the American people” posted by Allan Smith from the business insider. Labeling our press as an enemy proves the logic and priorities of our president.

 

As a press, the sole purpose is to provide the public with a means to have a voice and get heard at the top of the chain, our government. No matter how much our government officials tell us, the public, that we have our own rights and can protest our opinions, they make it almost impossible for people to say what they believe. When the Founding Fathers created our constitution with having the freedom of the press as the First amendment, they were keeping in mind the rights of the people to express their thoughts on the government system and let government officials know what needs to be changed. It is not a fair judgment, for our current president to devalue that amendment and attack the only advocates for US citizens because he does not agree with the things that the press say.

 

‘“With all of the fake news coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their license. Bad for country!” tweeted Mr. Trump on October 11,2017. In the viewpoint of the president and many government officials, the media has enhanced the type of news they expose negatively, to make it more dramatic and less factual to draw the attention of the people. The strategy and focus point of media outlets is to get as much of an audience as possible, even if it means to stretch the truth in order to achieve that; the “fake news” and “lies” that Mr.Trump accuses Networks of giving the public. Throughout time, the secrets the press have exposed to inform the public of the truth have let us know what is really happening behind closed doors. If news reporters and media outlets didn’t reveal the dark secrets of many government officials, citizens would continue to trust in our government with a blind eye. We, as a united nation, have to do what is necessary to make sure we know the truth about every command sent from the military, every treaty that is passed, and every threat that is made.

 

Social media is a way to stretch the truth without the public being aware, while at the same time drawing more people to listen/watch. Yes, the focus of many media outlets is not to expose the truth, but expose their least favorite candidate and draw as much negative attention to them as they can. But although many broadcasts contain extra, if not as much information, the truth always manages to find its way to the public. Unfortunately the relationship between the government and media has flipped into a more tense, rivaling process, leaving the media an intricate role of shaping and controlling political opinions. Our president needs to stop prioritizing  himself and his political figure over the voice of the American people. What we need to do as a nation is impose more ways for media outlets to have access to government affiliated events, in where vital decisions made could be shared with the country who would suffer the consequences.