This story was originally published in the second issue of The Bear Truth (November 14, 2019).

In a day and age where any comment or publication can be highly scrutinized, news organizations are getting the brunt of it, rightfully so. They are open to criticism from the public, but is it fair to say that they are being overly examined? 

Following the recent news of Donald Trump planning to sue CNN for highly biased news, agencies have been under fire for their content leaning towards a particular viewpoint with political and ideological goals. The result- a distrust in news broadcasts and publications.

This isn’t the first time that a politician has publicly outed the media for dishonesty. In the height of the Nixon-era, the Pentagon Papers and the Watergate scandal were pitted against the president. Following the release of such documents, Nixon reportedly tapped reporters’ phones and attempted to subpoena reporters’ notes.

It isn’t a surprise that the relationship between the media and politicians is a bit rocky. After all, the press acts as a gatekeeper, determining what is newsworthy and therefore deciding what information the public receives. Looking at it from afar, the media essentially controls the public opinion of such politicians.

To appeal to the audience which has a history of skipping over the news, broadcasts have turned commentator heavy, especially on channels like Fox and CNN. Media outlets have turned towards political extremes, where at times the lines between objective and slanted presentations are blurred. What is news and what is commentary is often not apparent.

To answer the question, no, the media isn’t being criticized nearly enough. With confirmation bias in mind, viewers are only reading or watching stories that follow their beliefs, with no regards to opposing points. The media is feeding into this idea of political socialization and the people are following it.

Riley Hazel is a second year member of the newspaper staff. This year she will be exploring the changes occuring in media today. Readers can look forward to reading her series in each of our print issues this year.