Hey everybody, Anthony Flammia here. This is my first blog, so please bear with my first-time blogger jitters. I’m here to give my two cents into this year’s presidential election and the media’s portrayal of it. Let me first start by saying that this election is one of great importance to us and our country. Not only will it be many of my peers’ first time voting, but as we all know, by the end of this election, we will either have the first Black- American President, or the oldest man and first female vice president running our lives. With that being said, I can’t stress enough to the young people of our generation, VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!! It is a well earned right to us as a people that a lot of men and women fought very hard for in our country. However, I also stress the importance of knowing who and what you are voting for. I, like many other younger people in America, am not the most knowledgeable 21 year old when it comes to politics in general. However, this years election is one that you can’t help but be aware of because of its media coverage. Its almost impossible to change the channel on tv or go to a website without having some new Obama-McCain update. What kills me about the media coverage on this year’s election is not its availability, but what the media chooses to cover and show to the rest of American society. This year’s election, more than any other that I have witnessed, has made a majority of their focus on the social and family lives of the candidates of both sides. They have done this so much that it has affected many people’s decisions on who they will vote for, regardless of the candidate’s politics. There have been more stories covering stories of Sarah Palin and her daughter more than Obama and McCain’s beliefs on how to fix our country’s economy. I am not saying that this coverage of the candidates’ politics is not there, but I feel as if I need to search harder for this sort of coverage as apposed to finding out who Obama’s favorite rapper is. I am a strong believer in the concept that a political candidate’s social and family life should be kept completely separate from his/her politics. The fact that Sarah Palin’s daughter is pregnant at whatever age has nothing to do with her stance on the war in Iraq. Family and Politics are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. I believe that the media should focus its coverage on stories that educate voters, especially young voters who are not as well aware of the candidates’ views on important issues that effect our everyday lives in America.
Thanks
Anthony
