Quote:In many ways, yes, they do, at least to a certain extent.  In the bold, you are missing the point.  The media has a huge influence on what is being discussed and how people view that discussion.  That is just the reality of it.  Fact is most don't fact check.  

 

If the media has huge influence on the narrative and shapes views, then they have a lot of power.  I think the media has a share of the blame absolutely.  Anytime something is being pushed by the media I always question it.  Most don't.

 

The media has always had a huge influence on what is discussed and what we think is an important issue.   For example, the Hearst newspaper chain basically created the Spanish American War.   To go back even further, what about Thomas Paine in the American Revolution? 

 

The only new thing about it is that there are so many choices now, so the media is fractured and has a lot less power over the narrative than it used to.  In fact, now, you can basically choose your own version of reality.  For example, think of how one portion of the media sold some of us on the idea that Romney was going to win the last election.       

 

So, "the media" is now far less monolithic than it used to be.   It can have a huge influence, but only after you choose which media outlets you believe.   Tea Party News Network, Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, Christian Broadcasting Network, Fox News, CBS News, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal, New York Times.   Some of them have high journalistic ideals, some of them chase ratings, and some of them push an agenda.

 

Really, there isn't any "the media" that is pushing one specific agenda.  

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