I’m not saying this is something unique to Fox News, as it seems to be the norm on most cable networks. We have let the quality of news we consume rot us from the inside out. Yet we continue to mindlessly consume what is put in front of us.
As we search for the truth in the information we recieve, we are often misled, but ignoring what we don’t want to hear is easier than seeking the true story.
Journalism as a profession is being looked down on because of this trend. What has been presented on these cable networks has been used as evidence against journalism and reporting the news. They have slowly torn down what once was a trusted source for information and turned it into a something to be scoffed at and something a child could do with no training.
Even as I sit here writing this, I can’t help but think about the negativity that I have to deal with when I tell people what I want to do with my life. I sit, feeling shame because I can’t feel proud of what I do because of the social stigma that has been stacked against me and my goals in life.
But there is hope.
The ratings for those popular cable news sources are dropping. People are starting to come around. People are waking up to the fact that news should be objective and complete. When you are looking for the whole story you want the whole story. There is no more room for sources that don’t want to represent the story in a complete and objective manner.
If we continue to search for the best news, the the least unbiased representation of what happened, then maybe the quality of the information we are given will rise.
We determine what future generations will see. Our choices today will influence what will become the norm for news delivery. We can increase the quality of news by demanding the quality rise and not settling for the garbage that proliferates itself today.
Yes, it will require hard work. You’ll have to search for the best stories to give your views to. We’ll have to scrutinize what is presented to us and demand the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
We deserve quality news. Let’s make sure we get it.
Cameron Simek is the Opinions editor for the UVU Review at Utah Valley University. He can be reached at camsimek@gmail.com, and on twitter @Skabomb. www.uvureview.com
