The Media’s lack of responsibility

Since the media is the most famous source of news and events they have a responsibility to give not only exciting news but all the less exciting events and life’s of the citizens of this country.

Over the years, the media has become the frontline of all news and entertainment for the citizens of America. For most of the citizens in America, the media is the only way they know what happens on a day-to-day basis and how they learn about the history of this country. Since the media is the most famous source of news and events they have a responsibility to give not only exciting news but all the less exciting events and life’s of the citizens of this country.

In the world today, the type of news that gets the largest amount of attention is anything that has to do with death, war, drugs and sex. It is the job of the media to give this information but it is also their job to give the other side of life that most American citizens live and know. Not all Americans know high levels of crime nor do they want to see it everyday. For the African American race crime, drugs and death lives in the community, but so do family, business and wealth. That is the other side that is not being shown by mainstream media. It does not solely lie on the shoulders of the media, African Americans and all other Americans must speak out about the needs for better news.

BET (Black Entertainment Television) has been the most watched channel for African Americans for years now. It is where they look for news, music and entertainment. Recently BET has begun to show the ugly side of life, the side that African Americans have been struggling to advance from for years. Shows like American Gangster is one of the ugly sides of African American life, it is not totally bad for it to be on television, but their needs to be a balance of stories. BET should also show stories of African Americans that have lived a productive and honest life, stories of African American doctors, lawyers and businessmen. That is what the youth of today needs to see not gangsters, drug dealers and such. It is the responsibility of the citizens first to speak out and then the job of the media to respond. It is now time for media, as we know it to change, if nothing less for the future of this country.

Rodney Henry