The Observer, September 23, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 4
Media's sound-byte approach obscures local, world events
The last year has brought many "memorable" headlines: Scott Pederson's conviction and sentencing, the ongoing War in Iraq, the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, and now the death and destruction caused by Katrina. However, the questions of the hour are: how long until the media releases and finds something else that will run incessantly, and how can we stand to let things continue in this manner?
In the last few weeks, the subject on every one's minds has been that of Katrina, and the devastating effects that she has had on the Southern United States. While that is – without question – a major and catastrophic incident, other recent events, local and national, have been overshadowed by the media coverage surrounding the hurricane.
Earlier this month Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away leaving another vacancy in the Supreme Court. President Bush has since pushed for the Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to take Rehnquist's place. As of Wednesday, Roberts had received both Republican and Democratic backing, and has now secured his judicial bench.
On a more local note, within the last month Ohio has instituted changes in the current abortion laws which are likely to have a great impact on young women throughout the state. The changes which were upheld by the Ohio Supreme court now require underage women to have parental consent before getting an abortion. The previous law only asked that they inform their parents. They have also lost the ability to declare their parents unfit and waive the requirement. Women must also schedule a meeting with a physician at least 24 hours before the procedure. The laws were instituted immediately after the decision was made, causing chaos in abortion clinics throughout the state. However, an extension, which ended yesterday, was granted to allow these clinics more time.
These stories barely scrape the barrel with respect to interesting and important news that has come out in the same time frame as Hurricane Katrina. While all the events deserve attention, because they directly affect the futures of so many people, placing everything else on the back burner is not only unfair, it is also irresponsible. As students, we should be concerned with events that have profound effects on the decisions we will make now and long after we leave the university.
It is no secret that the media ultimately chooses the images that are projected for us to view and base our opinions upon, but the American public is responsible for becoming informed and knowledgeable about the occurrences in our world. Case students have daily newspapers available in the dorms, which should serve as a window to the outside world. Larger newspapers, such as The New York Times, offer free e-mail subscriptions of their daily news which cuts down on paper hassle (and can be worked into the e-mail routine that has worked its way into the Case lifestyle, without too much trouble). It is common for students to arrive and feel as if they've been transported into an alternate universe, without any connections outside of the university. For that reason, we should make the extra effort to stay in touch using more than just the CNN ticker scrolling across the screen at the gym.
