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Originally Posted by Elphaba
I am far more critical of our electorate than you might think. It is not only lack of interest in educating oneself in important issues, but a profound laziness of thought that is fed by our current entertainment based media. Which brings us back into agreement, once again.  |
I have to wonder if the news media is worse today than it has been in the past or if today's "worse" is just this era's particular flavour of media.
An informed citizenry is key. A free press is key.
Legally we in the West have a free press. I would argue that spin, bias, etc. have always been a factor and that any instances we see of it today are either a) due to there just being more of it (i.e. more choice of information = more chance for spin) or b) our citizenry is increasingly media savvy and therefore better able to spot the spin or counter-spin.
As for informed citizenry. I think we agree that people are disengaged. Do we know that people were ever engaged? I can well imagine that in the early days of democracy in the West, or the early days of America, when the populations were much lower that being engaged was an easier thing. But the fact is, people are busy dealing with life. They don't necessarily like or care who does what as long as they have a relatively "good life".
Being informed or even well-informed takes a lot of effort. Effort that many are not willing to make OR do not have the time to make.