Arapahoe Community College had the pleasure of hosting Jim Anderson of the Associated Press, as well as ACC’s very own Kona Star Morris.  The duo lead a hot topic discussion concerning the media’s coverage of the 2016 election.  Highlighted by personal experiences from both speakers, the Q&A shed light on the reality of America’s national media coverage, and the injustice being served to the people.

Media outlets are known for having agendas, but to see it firsthand is eye opening, and as Morris put it, “unbelievable.”

Journalism, agenda or not, is supposed to be built on a foundation of getting the truth to the people.  What we are witnessing in this year’s presidential race is unlike anything America has ever seen.  Morris had the privilege of being elected as a Colorado delegate at the Democratic National Convention, and her experience proved what we have heard for so long: the media has a script.  Upon returning to her hotel room and watching the coverage of the event, she began to see what was being broadcast was “polar opposite” of what was really happening inside the Wells Fargo Center.  What was supposed to be a contested convention was actually, as Morris described, a “Hillary Clinton commercial.”  This gross misrepresentation of the Democratic party was only fueled by false images of happiness and unfair acts to cover any “problem areas” who simply wanted to be heard.

Isn’t that exactly the opposite of democracy?  It was so unjust, in fact, that Morris could recall delegates formerly in support of Clinton walking out with Bernie Sanders supporters.

Of course, the media couldn’t show that live.  Instead, people off the street were hired to fill seats and pull the wool over our country’s eyes.  With the use of close-ups and timely cut-ins on speakers, the majority of the rebellion was kept out of television broadcasts in order to preserve the illusion.  The biggest cover up was having seat fillers hold banners with “stronger together” in large print in front of any congregation trying to protest Hillary and her coming out party.

In what might be the most gross violation of rights, Morris recalls there being no accommodations for the blind delegates.  Blind delegates such as Mark Lasser, who was forced to vote with pen and paper.  Read that back.  In what way is that fair?  The worst part is when asked about this, representatives from the DNC commented that the proper provisions were given to all blind delegates who were present.  When Morris showed us slides of the media coverage, that is exactly what they reported.  How are people supposed to feel empowered or have any faith in the system when disgraceful acts like these are going on behind closed doors?

AP maestro Jim Anderson has been all over the world and reported on historic events ranging from the overthrowing of Hugo Chavez to the earthquakes in Haiti.  What he sees in today’s media coverage is no different than what Morris’s testimonies prove; media is only trying to “manage the message,” as Anderson put it.  He recalled the Democratic National Convention eight years ago, which was held in Denver, and the differences are astounding.  Today we see a rebellion from both parties, where eight years ago it was a show of solidarity for current president Barack Obama.  Anderson believes some of this disconnect is attributed to there being “less access to candidates.”  At one point in time, candidates embraced debates as a platform to make their voice on important issues heard, whereas today the are routinely dodging the chance to challenge one another.  When an audience member asked Anderson where the future of media is going, he chuckled, “If I could answer that, I’d be running.”

After listening to Morris and Anderson tell these horror stories of what should be a transparent method of reporting, I felt a little hopeless.  I believe that was uniform throughout the room.  Journalism is supposed to be a tool to keep the nominees honest, not a crutch for them to stand on when someone ruffles their feathers.  At the very least, it is supposed to leave the thinking up to the people, and they will make an informed decision come November 8th.  How can anybody make an informed decision without any idea of what is really going on behind the scenes?  As Morris explained, “recognizability has taken the place of ethics.”  This is a mockery of the term journalism, and this is feeding the belief among many millennials that their vote will not count for anything.  Morris went on to state that an important question has to be regularly asked throughout a process like this,”What side of history do you want to be on?”  Morris stated the Democratic National Convention may have been “decided before we were able to cast our vote,”  but we still have the opportunity to be heard on election day.

I implore you to do that,  students of ACC.  Do your own research. Use sites like Politifact, or FactCheck.org.  There are resources out there that empower you to do your own thinking.  And most importantly, VOTE.