AP Government Post #3

Has the American mass media become too powerful?  Is the media’s impact on public opinion and political outcomes consistent with limited government.  Is there any democratic way to hold mass media organizations accountable for their behavior?

This post will close on  March 4 at 5:00 P.M.  Be sure to refer to the rubric for how points are earned.

103 thoughts on “AP Government Post #3

  1. The media today has become a big part of our everyday lives. We can quickly and easily get the most important news with just a few clicks of a button. It can change and influence our political views, especially with the younger generations. They may see that a celebrity they admire has certain views and may be easily swayed in that direction as well. I don’t think mass media has gotten too powerful, I think it’s good that we can all share our thoughts and opinions and see different points of views.

    • I agree with your first comment about mass media being good as we can spread information, however I disagree that it hasn’t got too powerful. I believe this because many sources are spreading false news and are misinforming the people.

    • I really agree with your opinion, in that mass media has become a huge part of our lives since it’s everywhere we look. Especially with children. Political views can be swayed with favorited celebrities and with the things we enjoy to do online. It really has expanded since the internet became a thing.

    • I completely agree with you on the fact that it’s sort of engulfed the life’s of our generation. It will be interesting to see how media effects those if the next one. But you say it’s not too powerful, if they are swaying the minds of children isn’t that the equivalency or brain washing them, or corrupting their developing opinions?

    • I definitely think media has gotten bigger throughout the years. From when it began to now, it’s influence has gotten stronger. With information being there with a click of one button, and your mindset to change off of one post, I think it may have gotten a little too powerful.

    • I agree with the idea that media is so accessible for the younger generations. This accessibility does lead to ideals being mixed with what’s seen on tv. The idea that younger generations may just follow the ideals their celebrity idols have. This seems to be detrimental to the future in which personal ideals are no longer prominent.

    • I agree with the statement that we can all share our thoughts, opinions, and beliefs, disallowing mass media to become TOO powerful. It creates a balance.

  2. Mass media is a tool that can be used to spread recent happenings, however it can also be used to spread panic or half-truths. If used correctly it can make the average citizen more educated about the world around them, including political turbulence, economics and internal affairs but its power is not so much so that it makes choices for us

    • Mass media is definitely used for both good and bad publicity, but people need to use more sources if they want to really be well educated on issues they are reading about.

  3. Mass media has become very powerful recently. I believe that it has become too powerful because many people take what they see on the internet or in the news at face value without checking to make sure the information is accurate, causing a lot of false news and inaccurate stories that affect people’s views. I do not believe that there is any good, democratic way to hold mass media accountable because the internet is everywhere and it is impossible to monitor every website. Also, even if mass media could be monitored, the only way to hold them accountable would be to limit what they can say and publish, which would be infringing on their rights of free speech.

    • I agree, trying to regulate the media could lead to the infringement of free speech. Although I am not sure that the media is very powerful as because of the rise of inaccurate news, people tend to distrust what they see. But in some cases you are correct, as as these false stories can affect people’s views.

    • I agree that mass media has become to powerful and people need to take the time to actually research what is going on in the political climate. I don’t agree that there is nothing we can do I understand any action taken would be an infringement on the freedom of speech but we have been asked to give up rights for the greater good before and this is another example of something we need to take action against (fake news).

      • I agree with your statement and since it would be an infringement on the first amendment, however do you think it would cause a major push back if acting upon giving up freedoms for better of the people? Do you think that if that happened the media would move to other ways of creating this control and information influence?

      • I agree with your statement. I also believe that the media is too powerful and we need to collectively do something to fix that.

    • I agree with your statements. Not many people put the effort in to see if the news presented is actually true. Media can be extremely powerful and must be presented as accurately as possible.

    • I disagree with your point about mass media being too powerful because people don’t check there news sources that to me is more so on us as citizens of this country not on the media being too powerful because there is a way to find and do your research to see the truth behind stories. Is it sometimes rather difficult to distinguish yes but is it too powerful no.

    • I agree, people almost never take into account the accuracy of what the media reveals and posts about. This false news can absolutely effect the opinions and views of people who do not have all of the information.

    • The media isn’t too powerful. If someone doesn’t research the credibility of a source, that’s on them. That doesn’t make mass media too powerful, that just proves the public is somewhat lazy and/or incompetent.

  4. I do not believe American mass media has become too powerful, I actually believe that it has weakened. This is because of a wave of exaggerated information causing a distrust between the media and the public. People are more set on certain media sources they believe they can trust and in turn isolate themselves from other sources as they distrust them. I believe that the media’s impact on public opinion and political outcomes are consistent with limited government as people can state their opinions as they like and can support who they want with complete liberty. The way that we use currently to hold mass media accountable is probably the most democratic as the public will typically shame and discredit the organization when it does something wrong. There is no true way to hold the media completely accountable while keeping free speech and liberty, but as long as the public keeps itself informed, the truth is more likely to be rise above.

    • I agree with your opinion, it really gives a different perspective to the way that Americans perceive mass media. And yes we do hold media outlets accountable when they are not accurate. Which is different from disagreeing with their point of view. Overall, your argument is strong and it really gives people a different perspective at looking at the way we view mass media

    • I agree with you. People are realizing how media twists stories into half truths so they don’t always trust what the news tells them. There is so much controversy right now about what is true and what is a lie that it is hard to know what to trust on the news. The best way to fix this would be to pass laws that make it harder to spread stories that don’t tell the whole truth.

    • I strongly agree with your opinion, mass media isn’t too powerful. It’s a great way for everyone to share their views on a large scale and keep everyone informed on world events.

  5. American mass media definitely has gotten more powerful than it once was. We are affected by it everywhere we turn. When we turn on a T.V. or when we are on social media. There is something political going around and there’s a lot more articles with heavily biased opinions at our fingertips. The media’s impact on public opinion is pretty consistent with our limited government. But I don’t believe there is a democratic way to hold mass media accountable to their actions because it’s the internet and there was nothing as technologically advanced back then when the constitution was written. There aren’t new laws to restrict the media from doing so unless it invalidates any of the articles in the constitution or our amendment rights.

    • I agree it is hard to hold media accountable for their behavior because it would violate our first amendment, we have the freedom of press. So media has the right to report whatever they want even if it is biased or untrue. This should be fixed, however, so the American people can make informed decisions based in fact.

    • I agree with your statement. Even asking my mother about her opinion on the matter, she agrees that the media has gotten powerful, especially with it being right at our fingertips with our phones. I also agree that there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do to hold them accountable because of their first amendment right to free speech.

  6. I believe The American Mass Media has become too powerful. The media can pick and choose which candidates they will allow air time which impacts political outcomes, and public opinion because if the public does not know anything about a running candidate they will not vote for them. For example, democrat Richard Ojeda backed out of the presidential race because no News stations besides The Young Turks ( a small progressive online news station) allowed him on the air so he was getting no traction. Therefore, large news and media stations can determine in a way political outcome because they can just give air time to who they want to win.
    Media having too much control of political outcomes also happened in the 2016 election as well. In over 1,000 minutes of national broadcast television airtime devoted to all the campaigns, Donald Trump received 327 minutes, or close to one-third of all the campaign coverage. Bernie Sanders received just 20 minutes. Hillary Clinton got 121 minutes of campaign coverage, six times the amount Sanders received. Meaning that the amount of air time can impact who wins elections. Well it is technically in line with a limited government because it is freedom of the press, I believe the way to hold mass media such as news stations accountable for their behavior is making it regulated. Possibly making it a law for large media stations to report only fact based information. That everything before being posted must be checked that it is based in truth.

    • I agree that the media can change our political views by what they show or omit. But as we move away from traditional media like television the power of mass media changes. I believe it has become weaker as the people have a stronger voice on social media platforms. But we have not completely moved away and I agree that certain broadcasts can change the outlook the people have on politics.

  7. The power of mass media is as powerful as the general public allows it to be since the medias only job is to typically republicize public information. This information can be easily misconstrued into falsehoods or biased conclusions but the original sources are at most times available. If you allow the media to shape your views than they have the power to do just that. In limited governments mass media isn’t silenced, threatened or killed for their opinions, slander or libel towards people with high political power. Often times in tyrannical governments the mass media praises political figures in power to avoid punishment or gain favor and less of their time is spent making negatively biased hit pieces toward the government or high ranking officials in it. So in limited governments, where you don’t have to worry about being put in danger for your opinion, people take advantage an hit so close to the legal gray-line of slander or libel. There most definently is a democratic way of solving this problem, a legislature must be willing to update the legal definition of slander and libel that protects people from having ideas spread about them at are not true. Any legislature with this intention can be voted in to make this process specifically democratic.

  8. Mass media has grown over time into an enormous source that pretty much everyone uses. I think it may be too powerful because a “ notable” person’s opinion can have effect on each and every one of their followers. Young minds especially are susceptible to this sheep kind of mentality. People see one opinion and run with it, with out finding out more information and forming their own. As well as if someone gets labeled on social media as awful on a trusted or well known publisher, the public will then see that person or organization as they are presented. I don’t really think there is a democratic way to control it, it is already difficult to control and monitor what is on there now.

    • I agree that many media influencers have major impacts on what their followers think and or do. Some people follow media influencers religiously which goes to show that the media today has become powerful. Some time in the future I believe that the media will become too powerful and there will be no democratic way to hold organizations accountable for their behavior.

  9. I do not think right now, the American mass media has become to powerful. However, it is omits way to becoming the dominant force in the way people think. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it’s very bad. Either way, it would be hard to overlook and regulate social media for the government because that could impede on first amendment rights and come off as too controlling.

    • I agree that it would be very challenging to control the media. It may seem like the government wants too much control.

    • While I disagree with the opinion that the media isnt too powerful, because they do influence public opinion and political outcomes. However, I do agree it is hard to control because of the first amendment. The constitution limits regulations of media because media like we have today was not around back then and needs to be reworked to fix issues surrounding modern day technology and media platforms.

    • I agree, the current limitations we have on the internet are good enough for now. I think that if we were to try to put more limitations on the media, the government would seem like it’s trying to take away the rights of citizens.

  10. I think that mass media in today’s society has accrued too much power. The majority of the population gets their information from media whether it be social or from the news. The media has power to sway public opinion based on the information that they present. Luckily there are many different sources for the public to learn from so the truth can be presented. It would be difficult and unpopular to try and control media. If this were to be an option in the future the government would only be able to regulate a small portion of what the media is allowed to show or say.

    • I agree that the government would only be able to limit some of mass media voice, as there is so much happening it would be difficult to track. I also agree with mass media swaying peoples opinions, as many tend to read one article or see one tweet and believe that to be the truth, rather than doing the research and finding the facts.

    • I agree that people are swayed by mass media but I disagree that it is too powerful. The part about mass media that is bad is the fact that misinformation is spread and people don’t watch multiple sources. Mass media is going to keep spreading so the best thing we can do is try and make it less biased.

  11. I personally believe that Mass Media has grown wildly out of proportion, the overwhelming affect of Media had on the 2016 Presidential elections is absurd. I also believe people spend too much time listening to one side of the argument, if they are liberal they only listen to liberal outlets if they are conservative they only listen to conservative outlets. If we really want to solve the growing tension between the political parties then Newtworks and News outlets need to return to a neutral stance of presenting the news without any bias, this is the only way to create a fair and balance atmosphere for both parties to come and start coming up with resolution to the plethora of issues America is facing today. The news should be a place for people to come and get informed instead we have a very hostile place where people come to get riled up about issues that actually need a resolution.

    • To me, Mass Media has grown too big when the president’s wants are published first on Twitter. The fact I can log onto social media and see the POTUS making bomb threats to other countries is extremely unsettling. But, the first amendment is something very valuable to our country making it hard to find a loophole to control mass media, without jeopardizing our Bill of Rights.

    • I agree with you that people spend too much time only listening to one side of an argument. If people don’t receive a wide range of opinions than they can’t truly know if their views are correct. Instead of the news outlets changing I think that voters should change and receive their information from different sources. It’s unlikely that the owners of news organizations would change their agendas, but people can change their methods for making decisions. Hopefully this will help us solve our country’s issues.

      • Yes, the American media conglomerate has become too powerful in this day and age. The reason is mainly due to with the fact that journalists have become all too biased in their approach to spread news, often favouring one political ideology and forcing others to accept, or face being ostracized. The political climate of the 2016 election was where we began to really see the power of the media corporations and what they were able to do to shift public thought and support for one presidential candidate, through countless hours of harsh criticism to the opposite sides. The American media and news machine has become nothing more than a factory of lies, deceit, and bias in the recent years and no longer partakes in the thought of being honest and trustworthy.

        There are certainly ways to keep media corporations in check, by starting to limit what they say if it is perceived by the public to be false. It’s a common phrase among people that everything and anything remotely controlling is a threat to “our democracy”, but isn’t the public opinion on voting for the removal of something the purest form of direct democracy? In fact it is, people just tend to lose sight in what it really means to have a democratic system, and are surprised and almost afraid when direct democracy is presented to them. If a news corporation is allowed to spread incorrect statements and information, then they should face a punishment for what they’ve done. If someone can be locked up for false advertisement, then what’s the difference with false reporting? Absolutely nothing. Journalists and reporters and news conglomerates are not above anyone else and should lawfully be held accountable for their errors.

        • I agree with journalism becoming biased, but I think it is up to the reader to be aware of their sources and choose outlets based on their own political opinions. Close to all media is left or right and that should be known before being influenced.

    • The news should indeed be a place that offers truthful and unbiased information— it should never feel hostile. I agree with you on the pressing issue of people getting too riled up and letting their passion for politics control their words, mindset, and actions.

    • I agree with how bad the media has blown a lot of people’s views out of portion with showing them what they want to hear. But with our media growing bigger and bigger everyday that there is no way that one side would want to become neutral with the other side. As much as we try to make things non-biased, there are so many factors that get in the way of people’s thinking.

    • I think everything you said is very true. Even in everyday life, people only listen to what they want to listen to, or what they believe to be right. I do think it would be a good idea for news sources to return back to their unbiased ways of reporting, but how could we make that happen collectively? no matter what someone says, everyone is going to interpret it differently. We’d be looking for and nit-picking at little things such as tone, word choice, etc. who is to decide what is actually “unbiased”. all it takes is an author of an article to leave out a single quote and everyone would be saying how they are not being unbiased.

  12. The mass media has become very powerful. It’s easy for people to receive a ton of information at a moment’s notice. Despite this, I don’t think that mass media has gotten to powerful. Claims of “Fake News” have caused many people to distrust the media and there are now a lot of alternative sources of information if you don’t agree with them. President Trump was elected despite most of the mainstream media being opposed to him. A democratic way to limit the media’s power would be to have congress pass laws that limit news organizations from spreading misinformation. However, if they did that they would then be allowed to censor news outlets and that would cause the organizations that were in favor with the government to become even more powerful. Hopefully news organizations can become more truthful without the government having to intervene.

    • I agree, I don’t think mass media has become too powerful. It is a means of world wide, quick communication that can be good and bad.

    • I disagree in that I think there is no democratic way to regulate media. Media and journalism needs to be free from the government to prevent any political power from being all source of news. A political power could decide that news against them is misinformation and they could work to bring the source down. There are many other alternatives to understanding what a serious news source is.

    • I also agree with your statement. It is so easy for people to get information about what’s happening in the world, especially this younger generation as we have search engines and social media right in our hands and pockets. I liked your connection to the fact that media isn’t as a huge influence since we did see president trump get elected despite much of the bad press he got.

    • I agree the media has become very powerful but not too powerful. The extent to where people will rely off of only one source of media for all the news. This broad state of news is great for the education of the people is great and very democratic but is ultimately the downfall of the power of the media, people don’t take the time to experience all the news and only chose to listen to one thing, the great state of education the media offers us it ruined…

  13. The mass media of America is an epidemic. The media has become an everyday tool that anyone can access, this is both good and bad. The freedom of information is a valuable part of American society, but the way that lies,deceit, and false information are spread through the media has created a cancer in our society. However, the protection of freedom of press and freedom of speech protect many of the people in the mass media industry, and based on how these corporations get there money ends up displayed in the news shown. The most democratic way to solve the media problem is to support mass education, show people that there is a way to fact check and determine their own opinions, this would be the best and most efficient solution!

    • I agree with your solution to solving the issue being the education of those on the internet. It is safety and knowledge that will make online news a safe way to present information. Though, I disagree with it being a “cancer in our society”, it can be detrimental at times.

    • I agree that people are believing false information they see on the internet without researching the topic to discover the truth. People need to be more educated and use some common sense when dealing with. Although it’s a good idea, it would be tough to force people to be educated on media because people tend to be close-minded and are unwilling to listen to the other side of the argument.

  14. While the American mass media has become a very powerful tool to influence public opinion, it is not too strong. Good and honest news stations know how to and are able to balance conservative and liberal viewpoints and there are still many that do so. Despite some stations like Fox that blatantly display media that only supports one viewpoint, it is up to the American people, not the Government to decide how reliable a news source is. Federal regulation is possible, but too dangerous to have as an administration could easily force incorrect information to be provided which would destroy our democracy. There are ways for Americans to already understand who can be trusted with awards like the Pulitzer Prize. For example, PBS, a trusted news source, has 23 awards. Fox News has zero. Americans do not need the government to tell them what to watch, they need to do the research and keep the government away from mass media control

    • I 100% agree with this! Not all stations and whatnot want to taint the American peoples viewpoints and beliefs. It’s important to recognize this, as a lot of people view media in a bad light. It needs to be known that there is media out there that don’t have an agenda of some sorts.

    • There was a recent study by the Gallup poll and Knight foundation that revealed Americans see 80% of mass media news platforms as biased. Which from their list given to the volunteers, left very few sources. So like that majority, I would disagree with your statement that there are still many balanced media sources.

    • I completely agree that the Mass Media has grown very powerful and is an active force in the public’s political views. I think as a society we need to have a discussion on what is more important freedom of speech or having honest reliable sources that don’t exaggerate the truth just for views. The news is important but we should also hold them to higher standards and not accept the blatant disregard for the truth.

  15. American media is admittedly powerful, however it’s not at all something we can call a dictating force to Americans. We essentially need media and the coverage it provides, quite honestly. Media can choose a multitude of different things to broadcast, and this is often where bias tendencies are spotted. A news outlet that is known to be a supporter of President Donald Trump will, of course, cover and produce content that will make Trump shine. However, I’ve noticed that a lot of people read a negative piece of Donald Trump news, and immediately have their mind made up about him, because this HAS to be true, otherwise it wouldn’t be published to millions of people. Media holds that power; the ability to easily persuade people. But is this something that government can get their hands all over? Should American people allow their government to basically infringe on the natural right to free speech? The answer is simply no. We need this good and bad coverage, and everything in between. If we don’t get this coverage, people will be less educated on the topic of one of America’s greatest assets; our democratic government. Defamation and spreading falsified information should be prohibited, but in a way that doesn’t make the central government look like they’re desperate to cover something up. Falsified information gets us nowhere, and it’s better for everyone not to waste their time reading through it. But again— it is so important that we do not infringe on the right to freedom of speech!
    Instead of letting the media scare us, and letting it dictate and control our beliefs and fears, we need to encourage people to research more! Let us not limit ourselves to one media outlet, when we got all of them in the palm of our hands. Media can be good indeed, but it’s important that information is backed up and truthful, of course. If not for media, how else would we get the latest, greatest White House tea?

  16. As technology continues to advance, the media shapes the political climate today bigger than it has in the past. Communication is crazy fast, research is instantaneous, and misguided information can spread worldwide without even knowing it. The media has a powerful way of letting citizens state their opinions and in political communications, and both parties are using it. Many people feel the media is biased against whoever holds office and that reporters want to expose them in the media. TV has furthered individualism in the political process directly to the people and has made political parties decline in the face of candidates’ personalities.

  17. Mass media in today’s society has grown tremendously. Many media outlets have gained a lot of power by being one of the fastest ways to spread information. Whether or not this information is true cannot be well controlled, and I don’t believe there is a “clean” way to control what is on media. With that being said, I also believe that mass media is a clever and quick way to get information out to large populations of people and can be beneficial.

    • I agree. With so many different political opinions and sources that are left-leaning, right-leaning, or neutral, it is hard to manage and filter what information is spread and the accuracy of the claims. The mass media can have a very negative affect on society if individuals do not investigate claims of the different sources or if they do not form their own educated opinion.

  18. In my personal opinion, Yes, the media has become too powerful. So much of what we know about politics (“we” the everyday citizens) is taught by what we see in the media. But America has become completely split by our two party system that there seems to be no unbiased, and balanced, sources of media. You either watch NBC or Fox, you read The Times or The Guardian. During the 2016 election, Facebook only showed news articles that supported Donald Trump, so as a result people using Facebook voted for him because they thought “oh, well this guy seems to be quite favorable, lets vote for him”.
    I think a solution, although solutions would be difficult for situations like this, would be to implement laws introducing fairness and balance to news and media platforms. But there isn’t really a way to enforce that, so I also see a need for a revamp in media ethics and manners. The purpose of media is to inform us, the moment they try to skew our opinion is the moment they betray us and their country. Leaving us uninformed on “the other side’s” view on an issue needs to stop. If they truly want capital and care about their numbers, wouldn’t it be common sense to connect to all people? It would be a win win for everyone.

    • I agree with you that the media has become very powerful in influencing voters’ mindset. The voting population is very polarizing due to selective exposure. People tend to view media that they support. The media should be unbiased because it is supposed to inform viewers of the pure facts. However, the polarizing media makes it very difficult for the government to regulate due to 1st amendment.What do you think the government should do to revamp the entire news and media platform?

  19. Mass media has become very powerful especially in the last decade or so. Much of our news and information about what is happening around us comes from the media therefore our opinions are shaped from what we see. There is so much false news and misconceptions pushed through these outlets that the government may have us believe whatever it is they want because they can somewhat control the media. However there is no way to hold them accountable without taking away freedom of speech so mass media goes unchecked which could be a good thing because of all the different opinions, views, and information that is available to us now.

    • I agree with you and I believe that the media has become somewhat powerful over people’s lives. Like you said, the media can influence a person’s decision and if this cycle continues it will become worse in the long run.

  20. Mass media impacts the lives of many in the 21st century. Technology and the internet are becoming more advanced everyday. Today, people feel the need to look towards the internet for answers to their problems. Therefore the media/internet is extremely influential in their decision making. The media can impact a person’s decision on what to eat, what to wear, what to listen to, and numerous other things. Mass media can also impacts a person’s views or ideals. If someone only listens to news stations that is pro-democrats they may only agree with democratic views and ideas. The media is becoming more and more powerful everyday and in the future I believe that it may become too powerful.

  21. The mass media has become powerful because the internet has allowed people easy access to news. However, a lot of the news on the internet is extremely exaggerated or is just false altogether. Since people may only choose to see a small clip or one viewpoint of a particular issue, they may be more likely to jump to conclusions without seeing the other argument. Newspapers and television also influence people’s thinking greatly. For example, conservative viewers are likely to tune only in to Fox News since they appreciate its blatant praise of everything Trump does. It would be rare to find a liberal person who enjoys watching Fox News regularly. Therefore, this form of selective exposure may sway votes toward one side since people are uninformed voters because they only follow news that they agree with. It is difficult for the government to hold the media accountable since the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech.

    • I agree in the idea that mass media is false and exaggerated now days. The ability to hold them accountable is also nearly impossible because of the 1st amendment. The news greatly influences people’s political perspectives as well shifting the scales for certain candidates who have more coverage.

    • Like you mentioned earlier, the mass media is powerful. The news often exaggerates or provide false information on a particular subject. As previous stated, the mass media can simply take small clips of a particular topic and go out of context causing disapproval from the public. This leads to the public having a distorted perception of politic and influence their decision on politics. However, it is impossible to hold mass media accountable. The internet has a vast amount of information and monitoring every single website would be near impossible. Furthermore, by restricting news media, this would restrict freedom of speech.

  22. Mass media plays one of the largest roles in politics in this day in age. Mass media now influences the political views of everyone. Now days many people lack motivation to research a candidate for themselves when there’s mass media that gives them the information biased or not. I think the only democratic way to hold news organizations accountable is through agreement among the people to hold these organizations accountable.

  23. I can’t say that the American mass media has become too powerful because it is what our generation grew up with and so is the younger generation. We are so used to media being seen and used at the tips of our fingers in our phones and social media outlets. I don’t think there’s a democratic way to hold mass media accountable due to their right to free speech as stated in the constitution unless the government puts limitations that don’t fully impede on their constitutional rights.

  24. Mass media is obviously one of the most influential factors in the political world. Many people’s opinions are offended tainted by what they see, or more so don’t see. I think it is definitely arguable that mass media has become too powerful. I don’t know anyone my age, or even older, that does their own research into political agendas and events. That being said it’s very easy for fake news to be spread and false information to be learned as fact. When discussing whether or not the democracy can help to regulate mass media and keep them accountable for what they release is questionable. I think trying to do so would serve as even more of a challenge because it’s going to be very hard differentiate who is right, what did they do wrong, what should happen, and so forth.

  25. The American mass media has become very powerful and influential in society, but I do not feel that the media has too much power. As American citizens, it is our responsibility to completely proper research and develop our opinions based on the reports of numerous sources. The mass media allows us to have easy access to many news sources with different political opinions. The mass media also brings awareness to issues that many people may not have been aware about otherwise; this awareness is not always positive or done in the best way, but it does spark an interest in the legitimacy of their claims. If people view media and do not complete any of their own research, then the mass media can become very dangerous and easily make or break an election or the opinions on certain issues. I think that, when viewed responsibility, the mass media is a good resource for individuals to learn about what is happening in their government and society.

  26. The media today has become rather powerful. With it’s influences over all aspects of people and lives, media has become the biggest obstacle to overcome to find factually correct information to light. I feel as if media sources should be held accountable for extreme incidents of mislead information, etc, but it would be rather expensive and difficult to regulate the entire media ( newspapers, television, social media, etc). With the ability to manipulate, photoshop, or type up anything that may or may not be true the media has become extremely diluted from the truth so political candidates risk a larger problem of being misinterpreted in the news to be given a bad rep and lose their chances of winning.

  27. Mass media certainly does play a factor in how the government is perceived by not only the people of the United States, but by the rest of the world. Even though most media sources have at least some bit of bias in their news broadcasts or published that does not mean they are overpowered in swaying the opinions of people because people can seek out which news sources they prefer, whether it be more liberal, more conservative, or centralized/unbiased.

  28. The media and news, is a tool more powerful than most people may think. It is everywhere, they even pop-up as ads. They have the power to make anything true. Whether something actually happened or not, the media has the power to make it seem as it did. Their titles may be very bizzare and not have anything to do with the news itself, but it still holds the most power, as many people don’t actually want to read the whole news, so they take the title to be true. They can certainly be amended, people should have the power to take down an article if enough of them think that it is not true, and just trying to cause havoc or terror

    • I agree with your statement on how mass media has the power to make anything true with the enormous influence it has on a population. The shrinking attention span of citizens allows this to happen now easier than ever!

    • I definitely agree with your comments about mass media’s habit of taking comments out of context or using small sound bites to influence an audience is out of control and should not be allowed in some cases. Depending on how these are used, they could be considered slander of someone’s name and reputation, and it should not be allowed. However, I don’t think that this media tactic is going to stop anytime soon; the general public, like you said, does not take the time to fully read an article and then do additional research of their own before making opinions and spreading false information. We can only hope that individuals will take the responsibility to become educated and informed voters.

  29. No although mass media is powerful and influential when it comes to political issues it is not “too powerful.” Freedom of speech protects news outlets to preach whatever view they would like whether it’s bias or not so it should not be limited. We shouldn’t have to hold mass media accountable for anything because they are private companies and what they’re doing is not illegal.

    • Even though they have freedom of speech, mass media still enjoys abusing it to maximum capacity in order to sway people into a certain view towards another person. It may not be effective on those that do research, it still makes a huge impact on someone’s character to the gullible masses which can be dehumanizing and make those individuals feel helpless since the media is technically doing nothing “illegal”.

  30. Mass media has become very influential in our modern society. It can persuade unsuspecting millennials to believe in politics that they know nothing about based on “public opinion”. Media is also very strong in the sense that they are completely allowed to speak about the politics they believe regardless of what they are. Freedom of speech is a right you are given in America.

  31. Yes, the American mass media has become too powerful. The media influences any and every decision we have to make. Whether it’s political or just in our daily lives. Everyday there is something new and the media is quick to jump in, place their input, and have an unintentional biased opinion. A free and open media is essential to a healthy democracy but we do have to hold media accountable sometimes and check the concentration of media ownership to maintain it all.

  32. The American mass media is more powerful now than it ever has been. It is now easier than ever to access information from any media outlet, but at the same time, the fast spreading of news can lead to misleading their audiences through bias and misinformation. The mass media today is more powerful than it should be, but the power given to them is all in the hands of their audience. It is the informed American citizen that will hold mass media accountable.

    • I agree, the spread of media has cause a spread of lies. This is possible because most people just take whatever they see as factual instead of figuring something out themselves, they rely to these media outlets that change how one views something.

      • I some what agree with your statement, but I believe that while individual media outlets are getting more powerful, overall, it is weakened, since politics are getting increasingly polarized and that the credibility of those outlets are put in question, especially by the opposing side.

  33. I don’t think mass media has become too powerful. I think that mass media has been allowed to cover stories and spread information that can be misleading or extremely biased. I think it has gotten out of control and it’s hard to find the truth because of the way we get information. The idea of mass media is a good one, but how it is used today is the problem. The media has a huge impact on public opinion. Most people watch one news coverage and then get that biased views. I don’t think that there is a good, democratic way to hold media responsible for their actions but laws can be passed that make it harder for them to portray people in ways that aren’t true. They can be made to show whole stories instead of just the parts that prove their views. But mass media will always influence peoples’ opinions and the best that can done is to try and make it harder for them to be extremely biased.

    • I agree with you that mass media has not become too powerful it is just hard to weed out the good credible sources from the bad to people simply trying to prove their views and their views only.

  34. Mass media has become VERY big and powerful, becoming one of the main sources for the population to access information. It is only too powerful because of those who are gullible to every opinion, despite it being blatantly bias or not credible. However, there is no way that mass media organizations can be held accountable because of the limited power the government has. Everybody has the freedom of speech, including those who give false perspectives and information, and sway other towards their side of an argument– whether it be political or general.

    • As you previously mentioned, the mass media is growing more powerful. The news are capable of influencing people that do not check for bias nor check if their source are credible. This leads to the public having a distorted view of politics which will sway them to think a certain way. Furthermore, mass media organization are unable to be hold accountable. For instance, the internet contains millions of websites and it will be extremely difficult to monitor every single website. Not only that, by restricting mass media, we are restricting freedom of speech.

  35. Mass media has not become too powerful because that would imply that we cannot as a country control what to and what to not believe. As a country we have control over the media because we as people choose what to believe and what not to as well as it is easy to do your research and things of that sort to not be a victim of mass media platforms. There is not a democratic way to hold mass media accountable because there’s a a very thin line that mass media platforms walk on By using by using the amendment of freedom of speech.

    • I disagree with your comment because there is no control over what the mass media displays and what they can do to sway their audiences. I do however, agree that there is not a democratic way to hold the mass media accountable because The First Amendment has given the public and media the freedom of speech.

    • Based off your argument I agree with your point of view. If mass media was a problem we would not actually believe it may be a problem. The media simply understands how to influence those who let a single source be their trusted site for everything. Media that is biased and on the far ends of the spectrum (i.e. Fox)have gotten away with their skewed information and news because people allow themselves to believe with out fact checking.


  36. Mass media has become powerful recently. For starters, people often view the news and believe that the news is facts themselves. However, most people do not do fact checks and verify the information provided since the media consist of bias and should be taken with a grain of salt. Therefore, the mass media is able to influence’s people perception of politics and distort the perception of the Republicans or Democrats by taking words out of context or overexaggerating details. The media’s impact on public opinion and political outcome are consistent with limited government. With limited government, news media are able to express their viewpoints freely. This point of view influences the public’s opinion and allows them to see the viewpoint from the media’s perspective and can influence the outcome of elections. Finally, there is no democratic way to hold the mass media accountable because the internet holds a vast amount of information and it would be difficult to monitor each website. Furthermore, by holding the media accountable, this would violate the amendment of freedom of speech since it restricts media from posting their opinions.

    • I agree with almost all of your ideas about mass media, but I think the mass media should be viewed as a conglomerate of individual media outlets with vastly different biases and viewpoints, so in my opinion, while the individual media outlets have gotten more powerful over the years, mass media overall is losing its appeal due to the divisive views.

  37. Mass Media is an incredibly powerful tool that is seen and interpreted from many different viewpoints and opinions. People who only look to certain types of media can be swayed based off the prominent opinion that is displayed on that media. The mass media influences people’s decisions with every news story and every new topic of conversation. The media’s impact on public opinions and political outcomes are absolutely consistent with limited government. It would be a difficult task to try and manage a democratic solution to hold the mass media accountable because it has become so influential in the daily lives of all those with access to this information.

    • In theory a democratic solution to prohibit the news for intentionally swaying people to look at a person a certain way through wordplay shouldn’t be too hard. All it takes is for their intentional manipulation to be defined as harassment, slander or libel by a legislature and for that definition to be voted into law, preferably across the country.

    • I agree with your comment because the mass media is a huge part in many of our daily lives meaning it will influence or even control a lot of our decisions. Also we do rely on the media for news so like you said if someone goes looking for a certain type of media they can be basied towards that topic.

    • That is exactly the thing about the power of the media, ultimately it is not the media’s fault for the way it is, it is lies on the fault of the people. The diversity of viewpoints we have in the media is a great way for the education and freedom of the people to be expressed but ultimately this is not what happens as people don’t choose to take advantage of this and only take advantage of the news site which agrees with them, many don’t fact check and only believe the false news, this is not what the people should be doing…

  38. I believe that while individual media outlets are getting more powerful, overall, it is weakened. The reason is that in the current political age, politics is getting increasing polarized, and that each outlet contains and retains its own strong group of supporters, and the hold on the listeners will only get stronger as time goes on. This is evident in how those outlets shape their supporters’ political views. On the other hand, when those individual media outlets clashes together, their credibility is put into question, as each group will try to discredit other group’s claim and viewpoints, thereby weakening media’s trustworthiness and appeal as a whole. It is going to be difficult to devise a democratic method to hold those media outlets for their behaviors, due to the freedom of free speech and the reach of their influence.

  39. Social media has become a big part of today’s society. I believe that mass media has become too powerful in the fact that not everything that is put on the Internet is true, yet many people are believing it because ‘everything on the Internet is true’. Many people, mostly the younger generations, are easily swaed to believe one thing because someone famous said something, making it harder to really know what society believes on their own.

  40. In today’s age, mass media does in fact have an enormous amount of power on the public’s opinion. With this being said, I don’t believe it holds too much power. This is due to the simple fact that no matter how much power a media outlet possesses, the public makes their own decisions concerning who they want to watch and/or trust. Therefore, I believe there’s a healthy balance between the power of media outlets and the power of the public.

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