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3690: A Journal of First-Year Student Research Writing

Author Image

Mark Walsh Photo

Keywords

APA, American culture, Writing

Abstract

Overview: This paper serves as an in-depth look into the partisan bias that exists in today’s mainstream and social media outlets and platforms, and concludes that this lack of objectivity further divides, polarizes and radicalizes the American populace. The evidence gathered supports the general claim that the mainstream media is indeed politically and ideologically biased to a certain extent, as are numerous influential social media blogs and news sites. Both loyal Democrats and Republicans enclose themselves within these ideological echo-chambers of their own making, based upon the news outlets they choose to use, as well as the way they choose to receive such news (for example, TV vs. mobile phone). This phenomenon is something that has been shown to further radicalize already sympathetic partisans to more extreme views, leading one to be more involved in political activism and debate, thus further spreading their extreme views to larger sections of the public. All of these findings and conclusions amount to a troubling prognosis for the future of stable democratic institutions, such as free speech, and for the future of an open, objective, and free press.

Author's Reflection: I am a sophomore with a dual major in history and political science.

Professor Rosenberry's Reflection: What I liked best about this paper is the writer's strong, confident voice in staking out a claim and then showing extensive support for it. This support includes evidence drawn from both academic sources and news/trade sources. For a paper such as this on such a current topic, the combination of those two types of information is important to making an effective argument , and Mark manages the combination exceptionally well.

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