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Don’t Blame The Media. Blame The Culture. |
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The mainstream media coverage of the election sucks. There’s no other way to describe it. It just plain sucks. How many Americans have been affected by the mortgage crisis? How many have had their budgets wrecked by the surge in gas prices? How many have been screwed by our broken health care system? How many have loved ones fighting in the Middle East?Â
With so many people having such an immediate stake in who becomes our next president, we would think that the media would be spending most of their coverage on these issues. But they’re not. Instead, we see mere lip sevice paid to the issues that matter and more attention given to the same old sensationalist garbage.
From Palin’s “scandal of the day” to Obama’s ”lipstick” comment to the non-existent sabotage plan of the Clintons - the mainstream elites (as well as a lot of the blogs, to be fair) are falling all over themselves in the race to cover everything that doesn’t mean anything. Which would be fine, as long as the American voters responded to this daily crap attack by spurning the mainstream media and turning to more relevant outlets.
But the public is eating up this meaningless sleaze. Just this morning, a co-worker of mine brought up the lipstick comment, and stated that it was making her think about voting for McCain. When I tried to change the conversation to the mortgage crisis, she had nothing to say. An attempt to talk about the emerging conflict in Pakistan drew more blank stares. But she did mention that she likes Palin’s tenacity and thought that the Democrats were being rather unfair to her.
Unfortunately, the majority of Americans are like my co-worker. They care about the election. They intend to vote. But they have no idea what they’re really voting for.  The mainstream media has not given them the information they need to make an informed choice. And sadly, most Americans will not spend the time and effort that is required to dig up this information for themselves.
It’s a crisis in our democracy, because ignorant voters are easily manipulated voters. Nonetheless, I do not blame the media for this crisis. The media’s preference for sleaze and diversion is a symptom of the culture’s preference for sleaze and diversion. Over the last several decades, our nation has fallen prey to a gradual dumbing down process, the evidence of which can be seen all around us every day. Substance, intelligence, and integrity have given way to tabloidism, ignorance, and a general lack of cultural responsibility.Â
My point is this: The media is definitely broken. But that’s because our culture is broken.  We can gripe and complain about how lousy the mainstream press is all we want, but as long as it’s a profit-driven industry, they’re not going to change until the culture changes.
So the real question, then, is how do we restore the values of substance, intelligence, and integrity to our culture? How do we get the American people to the place where they finally stand up and reject the crap and the sleaze that they are fed on a steady diet? These are questions that go far beyond who we elect as the next president. They go to the heart of the struggle that is taking place for the very soul of our country.
Palin will have blown us all to smithereens by the time that kind of culture shift happens. Did you mention to your co-worker that McCain made the EXACT comment referring to Hillary’s policies? I live in a swing state and last night they said McCain is gaining ground. We are doomed. People in our country get more incensed about Brad dumping Jen than they do about McCain nominating someone whose depth of foreign policy knowledge consists of Cliffs Notes and name-that-foreign-head-of-state flashcards. And she knows you can see Russia from certain parts of Alaska.
If people really “cared” as you say, they would see the obvious. It’s only by refusing to admit to truth when they hear it that they can be fooled so easily.
It is sad, as was the election of Reagan after campaign statements like “trees cause more pollution than cars” and “oil slicks are good for people.” At least we’re not witnessing massive chattel slavery and mass genocide like some of our American forbears did.
Not yet!
First of all, you are right, it is all about the culture. But, in reality, an educated middle class has much to do with higher education funding which is at an all time low. With less Americans accessing university education, most must rely on the mainstream media. Unfortunately, journalists must contend with their own insufficient knowledge and insights into both domestic and foreign affairs in addition to the bias of corporate philosophy and vested interests. An unbiased and ‘independent’ mainstream media is probably an oxymoron. In this election, the issue is magnified and what irks us most are the symptoms of a malady that needs treatment. The Obama presidency is a step in a good direction.
Good point, except I would contend that those with higher educations can be just as likely to fall prey to our culture’s dumbing down process. It’s not just about knowledge. It’s about values and good sense, too. I know some people with Ph.D’s who fall for the media’s dog and pony show hook, line, and sinker.
Jim,
You’re right. I found this much out in my own graduate education. But a truly educated person, whether formally or self-taught, looks at the world with curiosity and a sense of discrimination (healthy cynicism of parochial thought - not racial bias). It might be in the interests of democracy to teach analytical skills to the voting American public (at least make it available). Still I believe that our public educational system is failing in creating knowledgeable (analytical) world citizens and the costs will be dear to a future democracy. Ignorance breeds fear and political manipulation as we have seen in this past Bush era.
I agree - we are preparing our students to be reliable workers and consumers in the marketplace, not to be knowledgeable citizens in a participatory democracy.
It’s somewhat of a Chicken vs. Egg argument…does a stupid population require stupid entertainment, or has a steady diet of stupid information dumbed us all down? The media we’re talking about is owned by the same people who run this country, so I don’t believe that they’re only giving us what we want.