Don't Shoot The Messenger

In a recent article by Roy Peter Clark on "Poynter.org" Clark discusses how the biggest and current threat to the media isn't a lack of newsworthy stories or events, but a growing feeling of biased towards the media from the public.

This conclusion came from a study done by the Sacred Heart University in Farifield, Connecticut.

In his article Clark discusses the reasons he believes the public has developed this bias along with the attacks the media has recieved from members of the public.

My first thoughts went back to early discussions we had in Beginning Newswriting and how 78% of the public believes the news media is biased, with tv leading the way. HOWEVER, the public also seems to trust television the most. Causing me to think the reason there is this distrust and baised against the media in thinking the media is biased in based on an uneducated and fickle readership. If John Doe reads an article talking mostly about the liberal agenda of the senate and Mr. Doe happens to be a conservative, than he's going to percieve the writer to be biased. Just because he doesn't agree.

While reading Clark's article I couldn't help but think back to recent discussions in my 'Gender,Race,and the Media' class and how really, the media is the one who decides pretty much everything society thinks about. Does this include how we look at the news.

For example, take a look at television shows and movies. Movies like ZOOLANDER or Thank You For Smoking-where the journalist is just out there to get herself ahead of the game or television shows like Law and Order where its the same thing. Pretty much any show, depicts journalists as people who are just out for themselves and this causes the public to gain a negative impression of the media THANKS to the media.

To see the whole article:

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=136625