Sections

If there is one good thing that has come out of this long presidential primary season, it is the fact that more Americans than ever are aware of the influence of the media. Not that it is too difficult to spot.

Just look at our two front-runners. As much as I like the guy, I have to admit that the press adores “rockstar” Obama, and that it has helped him tremendously against the Clinton machine. And then there’s John McCain. Boy, do these guys love McCain. Remember that lobbyist sex scandal? John’s press buddies took that story and dismissed it as a rumor, and now he’s the Republican nominee. Not even Bill Clinton could have pulled that one off…

But lets not get carried away with presidential politics. The mainstream media manages to distort the truth about a lot of things, because the whole business of reporting the news has become, well, a business. Why should they care about getting all the facts straight, when the most important thing is being the first to break the story? Or, better yet, why should they be concerned with “journalistic integrity” when they are just trying to push their political ideals? Watch Fox News for a few minutes, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Our only solution is a democratic one. We must make our own news, and a great way to do this is through blogging.

You may have noticed just how popular blogs have become in recent years. With blogs, people can easily broadcast anything they want over the Internet for everyone to see. However, it’s the ones that deal with news and politics that I am particularly interested in.

Being someone who reads a lot of news, I have found that blogs are far superior to the mainstream media. Blogs do not exist to make a profit, and they can operate regardless of how many people read them. Therefore, bloggers have a lot less to worry about than mainstream reporters, and can focus on accurately publishing the facts. What’s more, blogs allow readers to comment on everything that is posted, so everyone’s voice can be heard. Believe me, it’s much better than shouting at your TV when the news comes on.

The best thing about blogs is that anyone can easily start one. How easy? Well, it just so happens that some of your fellow Brandeis students have blogs. Two that I know of are www.innermostparts.org, founded by Sahar Massachi and Alex Melman, and www.uponthegears.com, founded by Adam Hughes, Alex Norris, and myself. Both are political blogs, but Innermost Parts focuses on Brandeis issues, while we at Upon the Gears write about national politics.

But there is always room for more. I encourage those of you who are sick of the mainstream media (and I know you’re out there) to start your own blogs and join the fight to take back the news.

Oh, and if any of you have blogs that you would like us to know about, just write a letter to the editor and make yourself known!