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The Effect Of Mass Media On The Politics Of The United States

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Influence of Mass Media on the Politics of the United States Mass media can be a powerful tool, but it can also be a hindrance to the public if the facts are not checked. From the invention of the printing press, radio, television, and the internet mass media has revolutionized the way the public gathers information each and every day. Many of the sources we use for gaining knowledge and facts on current events today are controlled by a very small group. This small group controls many of the ideologies that drive our political system in the United States. The major political parties are highly affected by the information that is reported as facts on a daily base. A famous quote by Ronald Reagan comes to mind, “trust, but verify” and this could not be truer today when most of the public depend on mass media for the vast majority of their information. In America today most of the American citizens receive their news about political matters by some form of mass media. The American public assumes that the information they receive from newspapers, radio, television, and the internet has been researched and the reports they receive are based on facts; however, their expectation of the news to be reported in a fair and unbiased way is an unrealistic expectation. According to the Media in the United States by Anup Shah “6 media giants now control a staggering 90% of what we read, watch, or listen to” every day on mass media. These media giants include Disney, Time Warner,

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