The Internets Impact on Citizen Participation

The internet has had a profound impact on citizen participation. I myself provide a perfect example for this. During my community service project for school this year, I found the internet s a huge resource for me, providing information on my subject of homelessness, and providing information on where i could volunteer. I was able to find an amazing amount of information on my topic using the internet, narrowing my search down from world hunger and homelessness down to just the problems linked with the Bay Area. In our modern day society, more and more people are relying on the internet as a main source of information. It is an amazing tool for education; providing information on almost anything imaginable. While the internet does provide a lot of good important information, there is also false and biased information as well. It is important for people to check the sources of the information they are receiving  online to insure that it is reliable. When used correctly, the internet can provide useful information that allows citizens to participate in almost anything imaginable, from political campaigns to community service.

Political Advertising

Campaign commercials play a significant role in todays political elections. It is an opportunity for voters to be introduced to a candidate and their beliefs and policies. In the recent election for Governor of California, candidates Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman battled to gain the popular vote. Political advertisements played a huge role in the election. Out of the two videos posted above, I believe Jerry Brown does a better job of getting his point across by really attacking the opposition. He creatively incorporates Meg Whitman into the commercial, and attacks her campaign using her direct words. His aggressive approach of advertisement got the point across easier for me to understand, and really pointed out flaws in the other candidate. While Meg Whitman's commercial was more informative on plans and policies, I found it almost boring and dull. These campaign commercials play a significant role in elections, and are the deciding factors for many Americans.

Political Commentary on TV

Political commentary on television has transformed from a simple method of gaining information, to a media dominated by newscasts formed off of political opinions. Todays major television news programs are almost all  centered around political parties. While some are more extreme than others, these opinionated facts seem to cloud the truth from the American people. More and more people today are using these biased resources as the basis of many of their political beliefs and decisions. I believe it is essential for voters to receive unbiased information in order to make a proper and fair voting decisions. Although some TV broadcasts can be highly opinionated, there are still newscasters that do a great job getting the point across in a funny and entertaining way. John Stewart is one example of someone who can attract an audience using humor but also delivers an interesting, less biased story.In this video, he does a great job of pointing out the major flaws of other biased newscasters such as Glenn Beck.

Government Censoring Media

The way war is reported by the media has a huge affect on the public. Graphic scenes of wounded soldiers and battle scenes can depict the war in a way that alters opinions. The government played a key role in censorship of  the Gulf War. The Allied Coalition sought to "ensure that the media reported the truth as the military saw it". Many argued that what the press was allowed to see during the war did not depict the whole story, and rather the story as the U.S. government wanted it to be told. The military won extremely positive coverage during the war as a result of  restrictions on issues that they wanted to be censored from the public, press pools, and provided limited access and coverage. I believe this was totally wrong. The public should be informed on the truth, and should understand what is truly happening in the war in which our citizens are dying for. The government has recently begun lifting these restriction for the current war in Iraq. It is important for the people to be educated on the truth of the war, not a censored opinion of our military's success. Read More Here

Online Print Media

One source of online and print media that has caused a lot of distraction to politics in the United States is the claim that Barack Obama's birth certificate is fake. This controversy is a way to smear Obama's political campaign in future elections, and create attention over false information. It has escalated from a small scale issue, to its current status with the media, involving world leaders such as Donald Trump. Overall, this false information is only distracting the public from the important issues in our society. Glorifying this false information is only taking away from the true values one should seek from their political leaders.
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New York Times Co. v. United States

The Vietnam War gave rise to a massive amount of public protest. Daniel Ellsberg, who was opposed to the war, worked as a political scientist for the pentagon. in 1971 he stole and copied a classified paper which would later be known as the pentagon papers. He turned these classified documents over to the New York Times, who began publishing them. On june 15, the federal government was granted an order stopping the Times from publishing the papers. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court inn a matter of days, raising the question of weather its publication was a matter of national security. The courts 6 to 3 decision was issued per curiam. Justice Black wrote, " the press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the  people". I agree with the courts decsion on this case, although my opinion may change depending on the documents being released. I believe the people should have the right to see these documents, and understand what its government is doing.
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Gitlow v. New York

Benjamin Gitlow was convicted for violating the 1902 New York Criminal Anarchy Act. He was charged as a result of two publications, advocating "mass industrial revolts". He argued that the first amendment incorporated under the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment protected him. The United States Supreme Court found him guilty, in a 7 to 2 vote. Justice Edward Sanford concluded that "utterances advocating the overthrow of organized government by force, violence, and unlawful means" are unlawful.
I agree with the court decision on this case because someone advocating the overthrow of our government is a threat to the peace and well being of our country and people. Read more here