Gun Control in the United States

Gun Control in the United States

News is all around us and is readily available to everyone. There are many flaws in the system that hurts the authenticity of the news when you see it. The media is indirectly part of the political system. Most news is either considered liberal or conservative by many.

The media is often considered to be biased. The reason for this is because they do not act neutral on the things that they report on. They usually give their point of view and tend to warp the information so it's easily digestible by the average person. This type of "nugget feeding," can influence the judgment of some one who has no idea what is going on. The media tends to sensationalize the news by making it seem dramatic, and compelling. This hooks the viewer, and keeps them tuned in. The purpose of this is for ratings, and most importantly money. The media has become less professional, and their morality has gone down hill. The editors/gatekeepers decide what information is sent out for the public to see, and hear. This is another way that the news is shaped for our viewing pleasure.

The news media rejects the fact that they are biased. They claim that they are the "middle of the road," and are neutral on the stories that they cover. Publishers also claim that they are the watchdog for the political system, and they make sure that the system is free of any corruption, or wrongdoing. They say that they reflect the views of the public, and they are just reporting the news.

The two articles that I chose to compare both dealt with gun control. The two articles both looked at the gun control issues in different ways. The Backwoods Home Magazine says "it's about failed social programs, the destruction of the black family in America, and the rotten politicians who are responsible"(Silveira, Gun Control, race, and rotten politicians, 1). The American Enterprise talks about how articles are often published about the victims getting shot or killed, but not when the victim acts in self defense to protect them against a criminal.

It is claimed in the Backwoods Home Magazine that because of welfare checks given to the blacks, which eliminates the head of the household, lead to an increase in crime. The politicians now try not to admit that they were wrong, and made a mistake, but rather place the blame on guns for the high crime rate in America. The writer of this article also seems to be racist. He writes things like "particularly the black poor," "the latter half of the plan worked fine: most poor now vote Democratic and 95% of blacks to" (Silveira, Gun