Values Blog: The Watch Dog Role

The Watch Dog role is the idea that the media acts as another checks and balances outside of the government. Their job being to properly inform the American people of what their government is doing, and through undercover or information gathering find and expose corruption and wrong doing. This has and will continue to be a very important part of are democratic system and what keeps us free.

However, during the 2008 and 2016 election years we have seen the press take steps away from this role. Focusing more on having news be entertaining then just informative. This has led to news being more one sided and partisan leaving out curtail facts and events to try to sell the public an idea rather than a fact.

The media stepping away from their more traditional watch dog role is very dangerous. Their over whelming focus on partisan politics can lead to more government corruption and scandal if no one is keeping an active watchful eye on the happenings in Washington. A prime example of this would be the Russia Investigations, even though it was known that Muller was finding nothing the media continued to push the idea Russian interference in the election. Strengthening an already very dangerous divide in our country between the left and the right.