Navigating Through the Media

We live in a busy world where there barely seems to time to relax for some people. Whether it’s because of work, school, children, or keeping the house in order, we seem to have a chronic lack of time and thus we prefer things fast; fast food, fast internet, fast transportation, and fast news. Often times getting things faster is a good thing because it helps us be more productive and gives us more time to relax. However, Americans need to realize that some things simply cannot be rushed. One such thing is a cultivated and informed intellect. Due to Deweyan educational philosophy which has dominated American education since 1900, the traditional Republican ideal of the educated individual has gone by the wayside in favor of educational specialization. People are no longer educated but trained. This is extremely dangerous for our American Republic since an informed and educated electorate is fundamental to the democratic system.


It is our civic duty to elect representatives who will keep to the constitution and protect and better our country. Therefore it is important that every American, regardless of their status in society, be informed about current issues and their context and be able to discern between good and bad policies. To be a discerning voter one must also be a careful learner. Fast media is another thing we cannot afford in our society. As tempting as it is to get all of our information from media outlets we must remember that the primary concern of all media is ratings. This does not necessarily mean that media is untruthful but there is a tendency by the media to sensationalize and distort stories in order to get more viewers. The specific media outlet may also be motivated by the biases of many of the reporters and anchors, whether conservative or liberal. Finally most people working for new agencies are not experts in politics, history, or economics so their coverage of politics, world events, and policies may not always be trustworthy. Therefore, below I have written some advice as to how to be well-informed in the age of mass media.


1. Do not use mass media as your primary source of information on politics, policies, or the external world. As stated above, mass media can be sensationalized, over-simplified, biased, or simply uninformed. Take a break from reading fiction and read several good books on history and economics by scholarly, peer reviewed authors. Popular authors will have the same faults of mass media but a peer-reviewed book has been swept over for biases, inaccuracies, and distortion. These books will give you a good foundation for when you watch the news or read a newspaper so you can know about the historical context of an event and pick up distortions of the facts, sensationalizing, and oversimplification in the mass media.

2. Do not rely on the talking heads or talk radio for your information either. They can be interesting and entertaining or may even be political whistle blowers. Yet like mass media, despite claims otherwise, their chief concern is ratings. They also have the same concerns as traditional media outlets. In addition talk radio and talking heads do not even pretend to be unbiased so there is precious little critical thinking in the news they present.

3. Prefer newspapers and media outlets’ online articles to their visual counterparts. Having the text in front of you allows you carefully digest the information presented and reread parts of the article. Sometimes when something is said on TV it can sound better than it would if it were carefully read. Also, many anchors and reporters are chosen more so because of their attractive looks and good presentation than their expertise in the world around them, while newspapers and online articles do not have this problem

4. Whenever you watch the news or read the article look for the chief facts about the news story, thing such as what is the story about, where does it take place, and who is involved. Stay away from mass media interpretations of the stories and its significance. Use your own critical thinking, background studies, and later research to determine these. Also, do not feel obligated to read the entire article, but scan for the important facts.

5. Subscribe to a good monthly journal where significance and interpretation from the previous month can be discussed by experts.

6. Always think critically when reading or watching the news.

7. Do not watch the news media religiously but only keep the news on for extended periods of time when real news stories are under way, e.g. wars, elections, national crises, etc. All other times news tends to be hyped and sensationalized for ratings.

8. Remember, although blindly trusting the media is tempting because it is fast and easy accessible, it tends to always be of the highest quality because it depends on hyped headlines and non-experts. Therefore, do research on your own and make sure that you are an intellectually cultivated individual. The security and prosperity of our nation depends on it.