How do we Clean Up the Media Mess? #3

“How can we untangle ourselves from this unruly media mess we’ve made?”

I think to untangle ourselves from this unruly mess we’ve made, we have to start small. If we try to change the whole media landscape overnight, it will be near impossible.

I think the best area we can make actionable change is in the media coverage of Donald Trump and his administration.

It is up to us to fact check and to critically listen to his policies and what he says. If there is something that we don’t agree with, we have to make our voices heard. But more than that, people in positions of power have to question what we’re being fed by the new White House.

If someone interviews Kellyanne Conway, they need to suit up and fight back. If she starts on a tangent about something unrelated to the question asked, they need to take the reigns and bring the conversation back to the point. Our media outlets need to change their approach to covering politics, and to factually and honestly cover the news.

If all of Donald Trump’s rallies and speeches during the campaign were fact-checked in real time, maybe the outcome would not have been the same. People were so quick to believe what he said, without even thinking about whether his plans could be plausible.

And while yes, we are a group of educated students, there are consumers of media who will read a headline and not question the source or accuracy of the article. It is important then that these sources present factual information. Fake news is another whole monster of itself to tackle. But with reputable sources, we should at least be putting consumer pressure on these organizations to present the truth.

So while we can’t turn our media mess in one day, I do think there are areas of change. First, we should start with political coverage. And then maybe change will spread.

Also, here’s a video from GQ with Keith Olbermann discussing how we should cover Donald Trump. I agree with his statements, thoughts?