Merit of Media

Madison Venturino 4-7-25

Santa Fe, NM- As delegates settle back into the Roundhouse to discuss bills, debate, and report on all the latest developments of conference, it’s important to keep in mind the ‘merit of media’ in not only YAG, but as a real-world influence as well.

“The media plays a crucial role in dispelling the most important pieces of news, factoids… not everything is worthy of getting a story” remarked Kumail Askari when asked about the influence of the media. 

Photo Credits: Madison Venturino

History recounts a multitude of events where media has been a catalyst for raising awareness and inspiring large movements of change and reformation. Pranav Joshi from La Cueva discusses the Civil Rights movement, highlighting the process by which news reporters broadcasted the atrocities to every living room in America.

Times have changed, though, and we can see this through the emergence of social media as it strengthens its foothold in society. Kumail Askari imparts a more modern example, the BLM movement, and details how social media gave non-reporting citizens a voice to project and protest.

This, however, puts the credibility of the media in question when influencers begin carelessly dispersing their beliefs for impressionable audiences who don’t care enough to fact check the information being shared. 

“I think a lot of media sources today sort of like placed under right wing left or left wing… I think the strongest point of a media source is to have no polarization whatsoever.” stated Pranav.

This prompted a question; what is the role of a journalist’s voice in the media? If there is no opinionation then reader’s are simply handed writing they must read for cold hard facts- which isn’t a bad thing, however this drains the life out of media, especially when you could get the same information from a video that’s more easily processed in the mind of a reader.

But, if a journalist is too opinionated it can lead to credibility problems discussed earlier, so then how do journalists find a happy medium between the two? My answer is- they don’t.

Photo Credits: Solei Rodriguez

At least, not necessarily. My perspective on media is that it’s a collaboration between the reporter and the reader. Both have jobs and responsibilities for creating an efficient and trustworthy flow of news and information.

Media is often viewed as simple reporting of events, but it’s in my experience that media is more broad and colorful than that; it’s a conversation between the world, or a country, or between a city, Or a region, Or a school…

You get the point. On any scale, media is a mass conversation that requires literacy of the reader and careful deliberation of the writer to produce saturated pieces of news that discuss the facts of the situation whilst also exploring any implications or personal perspectives that are still easily distinguished.

It’s also the job of the reader to be able to distinguish the two. This article is a prime example of this, as it incorporates voices and opinions from multiple people utilizing facts and examples to support an argument that is projected through me (the writer). 

It’s your job (the reader) to be able to take the information and implications I’ve included here and formulate your own opinions, to have them be heard and projected through media outlets so that we can continue and diversify this grand-scale conversation by enriching it with your voice, your opinions,  your media.