Why do so many Americans take what the news and politicians say and never really analyze it?
356890
Cause it makes their lifes more secure.
141670
The purpose of the news media is to report the facts. Unfortunatly, people being what they are, many times they report what they want you to believe are the facts. That is what's commonly called " having an agenda ". There is nothing wrong with expressing your view of things as an individual, however that is not the mandate of the news media. \n\nThe majority of the media in the US is liberal, and therefore tends to report things from their position which explains how conservatives are usually portrayed in a negative light.\n\nI consider myself to be a conservative, however, I honestly believe if conservatives controlled the media, over time they would be doing the same thing. \n\nWhat's really missing in today's media are ethics and integrity.
493832
They're the social "elite" that think they know what's best for our country because they may have educational degrees.\n\nIn reality, they haven't a clue what REAL America wants, thinks, needs and feels.  Nor do they have the insight of the real issues affecting our country, although they think they do.
1147929
There's at least one American out here who agrees with you.  Such a sad state of affairs.  And the worst thing about it is that people can't see it.  Doesn't anybody look beyond the nice news stories the Republican-owned press keeps putting out?  For instance, http://www.democracynow.org (an independent media outlet) has a daily M-F show that goes beneath the surface on what's happening in the US and in other parts of the world.  We're conditioned to believe our beloved country can do no wrong... but it's time to grow up and open our eyes.
507471
most people's opinions are formed by the media. what the media chooses to cover, what stereotypes they choose to feed into, what issues they decide get the ratings, etc. so our people are free to choose, but is it really freedom if they are only presented with selective information? most people do not take the time to look up facts, background, stats, etc. they trust that what they read, see, hear is the truth.  if you are interested in this subject, you should check out Bowling for Columbine, it's a documentary about the Columbine shootings, but it also has a very interesting part about U.S. media vs. Canadian media.  Of course, that's media, too.  :)
339566
No one on earth outside of a third of the US has anything good to say about the Bush administration. Those folk are mentally diminished and listen to Fox News to much.
403157
Because not everyone in the country beleives what is spoon fed to them by the media...we aren't all conspiracy theorists and don't publicly hang people without a trial.  If there was 1 shred of evidence to any of the conspiracy theories or "Bush lied" montra, the man would not be in office, he would be in jail.  Truth matters to many Americans, but that number is dwindling.
35754
People are too lazy to think, and it's so much easier to just believe the lies and soundbites than to take the time to find out the truth.\n\nThe other reason is that many people want to believe the lies. When President Carter spoke honestly about the condition of the country, people got angry with him. They didn't want to hear that we were in a bad situation. They preferred to listen to someone who just told them that everything was going great.
177685
because people always assume of things with out knowing the facts. just ignore them and mind your own business and u should be cool..
340991
Most Americans don't watch the news. They prefer to watch American Idol and America's Next Top Model. The smart Americans are few and far between. I would like to think that I am one of them. ;)
176386
OMG NO!!!! Mainstream media, be they normally associated as left or right, are a bunch of non informed idiots. \n\nLiars! They are ALL liars! :) They spin it just like the next politician. \n\nPeople please, do not rely on one news source. There are three sides to every story; you side, my side and the truth. \n\nthe moral is, read as much as you can about any given situation from different sources, and draw your own conclusion.\n\n**Believe 1% of what your mother tells you and nothing anyone else tells you.
959757
Most countries have restrictions on what U.S. information can be introduced on their citizens, therefore they do not get all of the information. The leaders of these countries also make their news stations and newspapers reflect the U.S. in a negative way especially if they are opponents of our policies.
481284
no, I don't.  because people in poorer countries don't hear or see anything about the common Joe or Jane.  all they hear is what's in the news, "US bombs this"..."US barring trade with...".  Most of the world hears what the president and his cronies are up to...which is what most of us want.  we are poorly misrepresented actually.
367781
They do. What I don't get is that more than 75% of Americans including LEGAL immigrants knows the difference and the media just ignores it.
856636
Because they refuse to accept the fact that Bush has done a lot of good things for this country.\nA lot of people accept this because it's the only side they get from the mainstream media.
477497
It is so important to be informed.  You can't make decisions based on the junk that is shoved at you from every media angle.  Every news station has an agenda, and they know what demographic is watching, and what they want to hear.  It's all about ratings for them.  This is why you need to be in the know yourself.  It is a responsibility we all have as Americans, and alot of people fought very hard to maintain this, the very least we can do is care about the land in which we live enough to involve ourselves in its betterment.
1008471
absolutely! we know that the average person is just not very educated, particularly in politics, so they do not know any better but to get their news from TV. Fox news, run by wealthy right-wing rupert murdoch, has done enough marketing to figure out how to be hugely popular, and now has become a mass propaganda machine for the ruling party -- damm! this sounds like the old USSR doesn't it? if you want some details of this see the references below. they are disturbing but i believe it is important for people to understand the MSN and exactly how much news is skewed in this country. It's not that Americans are stupid, they are just victims of a faulty system of news which feeds them misinformation; think of it as a bad side-effect of capitalism.