I was listening to the radio today and they were asking for opinions on whether or not we (The people. The listeners.) blame the media for trivializing news. Specifically the question was geared toward politics and the sensationalism that is called news. For example, Joe Biden and his entire campaign was pretty much entirely given a miss by the media, but Obama’s bowling score got national coverage.

I heard the question as I was driving around on my lunch break, looking for clothes that’ll fit a kid that seems to grow an inch a day, a fairly impossible task. As I was unable to chime in with my opinion, I’m going to tell you instead.

So here it is: The media and it’s sensationalist bullshit is indeed an annoyance. But, my annoyance isn’t limited to the realm of politics. Most “news” stories, especially on television, are either trivialized or sensationalized. The use of hysterics, scare tactics and manipulation would do W. proud. I’ve stopped watching because I can’t get past the dramatics, I much prefer to read it, to be able to pick and choose both sources and topics. Within the realm of politics specifically I think that there are important issues at hand and ideally those issues should be kept in the forefront. Things that leaders, and potential leaders, of our country should have something to say about. Things such as the war in Iraq, the price of gas being damn near four dollars a gallon, health care, college tuition rates going up while wages are going down, the high bankruptcy and foreclosure rates… you know, just to name a few.

Yet, regardless of what I think should be and what is, I do not blame the media. The media is, first a foremost, a business. They aren’t writing/televising/printing/broadcasting this stuff because they are maintaining their civic duty of truthfully keeping the populace informed. They aren’t doing this as a public service. They are doing it because it’s what works. This hyped up bullshit is what SELLS. Keeping that in mind, how can I blame the media? If we, as a people, stopped gobbling this shit up, the market for it would decline, and therefore we would see less of it. So, there we have it. I don’t blame the media, I blame people. I blame us for not looking past bowling scores and haircuts, for being so obsessed with past preachers and affairs that the important things get pushed to the back burner because they are less exciting. I blame people for not caring enough to stay informed and in so making this shit regularly able to be passed off as news. Also, I blame people for being so eager to play the blame game. Take some personal responsibility, and if you don’t like something, do your part to find the solution. That, or shut the hell up. I have no interest in people that are willing to complain but unwilling to take steps toward change.

And there we have it. What do you think? Is the media responsible for the trivialization, or sensationalism, of our news in regard to politics?