Gerrymandering

I really liked this article because, aside from the fact that it was very well written and logical, the writer brought up many great points that I think people should pay more attention too. It was pretty funny for me to read because my mom is pretty liberal, and while my dad is also a liberal he is less so than my mom, and they both prefer different news channels in the morning. My mom is a die-hard ABC fan and my dad doesn't care that much, but would prefer FOX or CNN (mostly because he thinks good morning America only does "housewife stories" which I sort of agree with, but besides the point). We always end up switching back and forth and its interesting because they will be talking about the same issues but in a completely different manner and using/not using completely different information, which can really skew the average person's view. I feel like since most Americans will not actively try to get their information from multiple sources, so when sources become very polarized, so does the nation, and I can see how this affects how polarized our politics have become. You could even say that this indirectly contributes to things like the government shut down because that was caused by a minority (the Tea Party) who won't even really face much trouble in their home districts since, because of gerrymandering, all of the people in their districts will be staunchly Tea Partiers! I think this points out a large flaw in our system and while news sources becoming "gerrymandered" isn't that big of an issue over all, it does point out a big flaw in our democratic process that really needs to be changed for the good of the country.

Lena Washington

When watching this video I was expecting something radical or something unique, yet instead there just a women sitting there stating who she was voting for. She also states these reasons why she is voting for Ike. For example she loves that he was willing to help in the Korean War so that's why he has her vote. And she also states that she believes that he can give the country lasting peace. And so I felt this commercial was very straightforward. In my opinion it gives the viewers the opportunity to vote who they favor but in a way it also tells them that Ike is good in these specific ways.

Gerrymandered article

This article was definitely something I had expected to hear about the media because it is scene everyday by the people to inform those who wish to be informed. What I had also learned was that our Dailey news is to please the extremists since representatives have been gerrymandered into safe districts. This definitely not the reason why I don't read the news as often but it may certainly be the reason why I am so critical and decisive when picking which news media to listen to, watch, or read about. I had not recognized what has been going on in the media but now I think it is time to pay attention and to also look at specifically how the media is portraying its news to the people.

gerrymandering response

After reading this article, everything that I knew about the media was confirmed. I previously knew that new shows and things like that were either one way or the other. It did remind me how we honestly don’t have many places where both sides are presented. We either have MSNBC (the very Democratic station), or FOX (the very republican. My parents and my friends and I have often talk about the fact that media now is either one side or the other. What I find slightly annoying is the fact that there isn’t one place that is middle ground that presents both sides equally without bashing one or the other. I think that this is because people once they have their opinion, are very hard headed and don’t want to change it. They don’t care what the other side has to say, they just wont hear it. People are just too stuck in their ways to consider another opinion that isn’t their own. 

"Gerrymandering" Reflection

After reading this article, it becomes clear to me just how separated the two political factions are in America right now. I'm pretty sure it hasn't always been that one party loves a specific news channel and despises another, and yet the people in the other party likes the exact opposite. For me, personally, I don't really get my news from a specific source, but most of my knowledge about current events comes from either chatting with classmates or from when my mom has the daily show or the colbert report on TV. I like to get information from both sides of the spectrum and make my decision then. However, it seems like most people nowadays, or at least the people that the article mentioned, won't consider anything the other side seems to say. The question I seem to be wondering now is: what would today's media look like if the Fairness Doctrine was still intact today?