Media is the mind of the public. How the media portrays a certain event is how we then view it. It is not purposely but rather subconciously and it is a great power in which they hold. But over the years the way major events like war are portrayed have changed. The Vietnam war is known to most as being the first war where the television came into play. Now news reporters can bring cameras and show everybody back home what their boys are up against over seas. This created a lot of bad publicity for the war. Many news stations would manipulate information recieved and convey it back to the people in a way that would turn even the most proud patriot against the war. Biased information greatly hindered support for the war and eventually forced us to retreat. So this forced a change. With the War on Terror going on now, things are different. Information is given and the writer can give an opinion but most of the time they just leave most of it up to the reader. It is open to interpretation which allows the individual to decide what they feel about it and which refrains from having a whole new generation up in arms about the current conflict.
In conclusion, the media thinks for us. It can make up our mind on a subject without us even knowing anything about the other side and create an uproar across the nation. The power of freedom of speech is a great power to uphold
