After living in my home for a few years, I realized that I really needed to start caring more about local politics. I started going through and reading up on the latest judgements that our city voted on, and it was really fascinating to see what they came up with. I realized that if I wanted things to go my way, I needed to become more anxiously involved with local city matters. I started paying closer attention to the city newsletter and sitting in on city council meetings. This blog is all about understanding local politics and doing your part to make things right.
In this major election year, news broadcasts and paper publications are flooded with all kinds of political stories. How much of it should you read and/or pay attention to? What is worth paying attention to? Furthermore, what should you believe when you read it? Here are some tips on how to sort through the political news for the truth at the heart of these reports and stories.
Yellow Journalism Versus Regular Publications
First and foremost, there are certain publications to avoid. Tabloids and yellow journalism should be only read in fun. These are publications that print stories about politicians that may have a small grain of truth to them, but quite often are just completely made up or the stories are so slanted that readers are convinced that the stories must be true. Yellow journalism is almost always slanted, while tabloid headlines and stories are almost always made up. Dodge these publications to read the reality of things in trusted publications that make sure their writers fact-check everything before it goes to print. (For example, what you see of Kathy Hamilton in the Daily Herald is much more likely to be factual and unbiased, whereas the tabloid papers at the supermarket checkout may announce that she gave birth to Elvis's love child years after the singer has died.)
Compare and Contrast Political Reports and Articles
As election time draws closer, most legitimate newspapers will print a side-by-side comparison of the available candidates who are up for election or re-election. They may also print contrast pieces which show how past and present candidates have served their districts, their states and their country. A major focus in many of these pieces is ethics, such as Kathy Hamilton ethics and her positive approaches supporting college students while exposing unethical spending practices or Hilary Clinton's ethics in the face of her email scandal.
There can be no room for supposition in these stories, as the facts are very important to constituents. People like yourself want to know if their leaders are doing what is right, or if they have stepped away from their expected roles and behaviors. These are the pieces you can read and believe, but ultimately you still have to decide for yourself if you have enough of the facts to vote as your conscious leads you to. While good journalism and trustworthy publications are key in learning about your options for new or incumbent leaders, the choice is still your own.
Share17 May 2016
