Media Honesty

            As a country we are struggling with polarization.  Part of that has to do with what media we listen to, what media we believe to be telling us the truth.  And while I definitely have strong opinions about what media I believe is the most accurate and honest, I'm coming to feel that even the sources I believe to be reliable are questionable.  

          For example, I shared in another blog about what had happened at my youngest daughter's high school.  30 kids on the night of their graduation went to the campus and vandalized it with hate speech graffiti as well as damage to buildings using things like firecrackers.  I understand they have been arrested and are waiting sentencing.  I learned about this through letters from the school informing all parents of the class of 2023 that the entire class is now banned from the campus permanently.  They informed us immediately after the event that the senior trip was canceled, though later, when the 30 kids were caught, those who were "cleared" of culpability were still allowed to go on their trip.  In the span of 24 hours we received half a dozen emails letting us know what had happened and what the consequences were going to be.  

        But despite the large amount of vandalism and damage, there was not one word of this event in the local media.  Not one word.  Why?  Well, apparently the charter school they attend is afraid of losing their credentialing so they were able to keep the information out of the media in an effort to preserve good public opinion of the campus.  At another local school another hate crime incident received a great deal of coverage about what had happened on their campus.  But my daughter's school, which tends to be slightly more affluent, and to have many prominent and wealthy members of the community as parents, was able to put the lid on information going out to the larger community.  

      This event alone causes me to question what we hear in the news.  When the affluent and powerful voices are the ones who determine what makes it into the news and what does not, then everything we hear is skewed towards the rich and powerful.  Where are the voices of those who were hurt by the homophobic and racist slurs painted on the campus?  And more, what else are we failing to hear because it is about damage done to those we don't value as much, don't see as often, don't care about as deeply?  

       I know there is still valuable information in the news stories that are out.  But I will tell you honestly that I canceled my news subscriptions after this last event of media suppression.  As a person of faith, I am called to hear the voices that are being silenced, to uplift the oppressed, to focus my care on the "least of these" who are being harmed, ignored, and made invisible through our cultural practices.  If my local media does not lift up those voices as a priority, then I am not interested in supporting what they share.  It breaks my heart because I always thought media was supposed to be about exactly this: giving voice to those things we would not otherwise hear.  Instead it appears to be another cog in the wheel of a society that bows down before wealth and fame while ignoring the cries of the poor.  I do not choose to be part of that.