Media bias

            The media in America is the biggest influence on how we perceive the world. The images and words that the media gives us form's the basis of how we understand events occurring throughout the world. Although the media provides us with valuable information, the viewpoint from which it's given can sometimes be narrow minded and unfair. In order to properly use the media as a source of information, you must have an open mind and be willing to question the viewpoint and source of the information provided.
             The dominate story in today's media focuses on September 11 and the following "War on Terrorism". The stories depicted in the media often show Americans as the good guys liberating the oppressed while showing the Islamic world as the evil terrorists. There are very few stories showing the Islamic world in a positive light but plenty of positive stories about patriotic Americans. The vast majority of American media uses this format for covering the "War on Terrorism" and most of the American public either doesn't know about or doesn't care about different points of views. Other points of view do exist however and have found a home on the internet.
             One such point of view comes from Douglas Rushkoff, a professor of media culture at New York University. He believes that we've been given a "black and white" version on the war instead of the "colorized" version that exists in real life. He claims that George Bush and his team have gotten rid of the in-between areas and replaced it with the infamous "you"re either with us or against us". In reality there are no clear cut good guys and there are no clear cut bad guys.
             Another differing point of view comes from Jonathan Glancey, a writer for guardian.com. He writes about the future of Iraq after the invasion is over. He states that the American government is not as interested in liberating the Iraqi people as it is in getting oil and trade.