We are the readers of the news. Without us reading the news, there would be no purpose for the news to exist. The sole purpose of the media is to provide information to its readers. When you scroll through your social media and come across a post that catches your attention, that retweet, that like, or that thumbs up gives that news story more and more fame. Over time we click on a news story, whether we like it or not, entertaining it and therefore giving it more and more power. The news media is our tool for accessing information from around the world. With news, we can connect with others around us in the world. We are informed about politics, entertainment, business and science. Unfortunately, not everything we read pleases us or agrees with our beliefs. We are therefore left with the question: “how does the media pander to us?” Some may ask, “How is it possible that the media is designed to please me if everything I hear on the news is irrelevant or ignorant?” However, the media is what it is because of us. Everything we hear or read on the news is because we put it there. When we watch the news and observe trends, we must realize that we are the ones who gave it the power to become so widely popular. Advertisers pay thousands of dollars for their media to be clicked. If we don't click on the news, advertisers won't make money. So when we click on something, that's what advertisers see, even if it's something we don't agree with. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The news media has been a vital piece of history and continues to have a major impact on society today. Brooke Gladstone, an American journalist, author and media analyst, discusses this in her influential 2011 best-selling book, The Influencing Machine, in which she discusses the news media and their history. During Hurricane Katrina, the public turned to the media for information and comfort. The news media spoke to the public and provided relief to many people. Journalists would express the public's anger and frustration and become the voice of the people (Gladstone 41). I remember when Hurricane Sandy hit. It was such a sad moment to see the land I grew up on being destroyed. My family and I tuned into the news every hour to see if there were any updates on the terrible loss we had suffered. This is something that has happened throughout history and continues to be a part of our lives. This is the news we need to hear and then there's news we don't need but want to hear about. For example, the Kardashians and many infamous celebrities like the trendy girl "Cash me outside" who is now very well known throughout the country and rich thanks to the attention we: the public. All the attention, even the negative attention, has fueled these people and made them so widely known and publicized in the media. Therefore, the news creates more stories about them because they are what is trending right now. Whether we like it or not, the media actually indulges us, the news that circulates is what people want to hear about, or what people deserve to know. Even though we hear many stories about what is happening in the world through social media, news channels, blogs and more, we actually only see what is shown to us. What else are we missing? We are shown only shadows of information rather than the whole picture. For example, the White House has a reputation for trying to hide secrets from the public.One case that struck me was when the September 11 attacks occurred. Gladstone states that, “According to the Center for Public Integrity, the White House made 935 false statements about Iraq in the two years following the September 11 attacks” (Gladstone 31). This is a very scary number. Without the media being able to report any news, this is the results we receive from our public servants. Another is the Watergate scandal; this was a very influential moment in history. As journalists publicized the scandal involving President Nixon, more and more people began to trust the media again (Gladstone 39). There is reasoning behind this. Many journalists struggle with this problem on a daily basis. The country should have the right to know what is happening in our world. Gladstone tells us: “The media is not afraid of the government. They are afraid of their audience” (Gladstone xiv). Although government officials and presidents are authority figures, they are still public servants, as are journalists. Their job is to primarily serve the public. (Gladstone 38). This shows that the media does not write or speak to please the government as they did centuries ago; they disseminate information to please the people and their readers as in 1644 when newspapers had to be approved and authorized by congress before being published (Gladstone 8). We are the controllers of what is broadcast in the media; however, not all information is intended for us. In Plato's “Cave,” the prisoner who left the prison and saw the sun became blind from all its bright light. Upon returning to his cave to inform the other prisoners of his discovery, they decided to remain prisoners because they were happier with their shadows and darkness and did not know what lies in the outside world (Plato 107). The cave world, while seemingly very fictional, is no different from the world we live in now. Even we don't know everything that happens in the world. However, is it such a bad thing? Knowing everything is not always the best solution. There are times when knowing less, we as human beings are happier. Like the people in the cave, our ignorance is the only thing that keeps us sane and helps us sleep at night. As Elizabeth Kolbert stated in her article “That's What You Think,” inside the New Yorker magazine, “But here they encounter the many problems they listed. Providing people with accurate information doesn't seem to help; they simply discount it. Appealing to the emotions of others may work better, but doing so is obviously antithetical to the goal of promoting sound science” (Kolbert 71). It speaks to the difficulty journalists face in providing accurate information while still pleasing the public. The article itself talks about how people believe they know more than they actually do. The way our mind works causes us to believe that whatever we agree on is correct and whatever we disagree on is invalid. Therefore, when we read news that does not meet our beliefs, we are so quick to reject and discredit that information. The media is not free to disclose all information sent by the government. They have to make the rigorous decision to choose what people are told, how people are told, and when people are told. This challenge is deciding how to please the public while protecting them from panic. What we see on the news is the information we required to be up there. Even if it's something we may disagree with or even hate. When we look at it or pay attention to it, negative or positive, we reinforce the media to continue writing about it. On many occasions I have.