MH370: New last words from cockpit: 'Good night
Malaysian three seven zero'
By Catherine E. Shoichet, Faith Karimi and KJ
Kwon, CNN
The media
being Gatekeepers is a subtle event that many people will never pick up on
unless directly prompted to look. I know I had never thought about it until
recently, but there are so many examples on a daily basis that it is hard for
me to believe I hadn't noticed sooner. Today I can think of the issues in
Ukraine, the missing flight in Malaysia, and the mudslide in Washington State.
These three stories have been news headlines anywhere from a whole month, up to
only a week, based on how long ago the event occurred. The missing flight has been
a headline story for nearly the last month since it disappeared in early March.
The national news has been continually tracking the story as it has progressed
and created a massive focus on this story. Although the story has been
important, many Americans would have forgotten almost a month later other than
the media putting in constant reminders. It can be seen just how long this
store has been on air when the authors write “…since the plane vanished three
weeks ago.” Although the quote is not suggestive of news coverage it can be
seen by the timeline on the webpage that lists different articles as they have occurred
directly related to an incident three weeks old.
How Obama can
save the day
By Frida Ghitis
March 31, 2014
Another role
of the media for many Americans is to be the Scorekeeper, in essence the
American people rely on the media to monitor political races and to keep
Americans in the loop when it comes to political awareness. A great example is
the way that Americans have been following the events in Ukraine. Although many
Americans are aware of the situation, many Americans only found out when the
news began airing news about the tensions rising between the United States and
Russia rather than Ukraine and Russia. The article gives a prime example “In the years
since President Barack Obama moved into the White House, Western influence on the global stage has declined.” Many Americans wouldn't
know this about our political system unless they are in a class on government,
or watch the news on a regular basis. The media also helps us to keep track of
elections, one of the greatest examples is the presidential elections. During
this time the news networks complete extensive coverage over nearly every
aspect of the campaigns.
Doctor
Posts Gruesome X-Rays Online
Video Segment
February
26, 2014
The last
thing many Americans rely on the media for is being our Watchdogs. Many
reporters have access to information that many Americans would never be able to
see without the media. Recently a Doctor that is also running for the US Senate
has been caught doing some less than professional things with X-rays, and his
comments that he has been making about gunshot wounds suffered by some of his
patience. Many Americans would have no idea about these incidents because many
of them were removed from his various social media, yet the news managed to
catch it and bring it forth to the public. The doctor can be quoted as
captioning an image of a body riddled with shotgun wounds as “this is my second
favorite gunshot wound of all time”. Many Americans would have no clue about
the Kansas state man running for the Senate had this not been covered by the National
news.
So does the
Media count as a Fourth Branch?
In a way the
Media could be considered a fourth branch, but in my personal opinion I feel
that it is more of a tool for politics rather than another branch. The media,
although extremely powerful in their ability to influence the nation, doesn't
hold much power in DC. The Media can’t create legislation, can’t remove anyone
from office, and they can’t change foreign policies. Although politicians who
are looking to cause certain changes are capable of using the media to sway public
opinion, many times the media can’t do the same however. The media also isn't
mentioned in the Constitution, meaning that realistically it holds relatively
no power when compared to the Federal government.
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