082— The Importance of an Unbiased Media for American Democracy: An Analysis of Media Affecting Public Opinion

A free and unbiased media is a cornerstone of any properly functioning democracy. It is the primary means of information transfer between the federal government and its constituents on policy matters. While there are a number of democratic countries around the world that have taken steps to limit press freedom, thereby moving away from a full democratic system, the United States has, for the most part, not been one of them. However, mass media in the United States is far from perfect, and in some instances can be damaging to American society and democracy itself. I will conduct a literature review discussing the place of media in democracy, and how that relates to public opinion on issue areas. Then, I will examine the potentially damaging role the media played in the months following the November 2020 presidential election, using the mainstream partisan media sources CNN and Fox News. Finally, I will make recommendations for potentially improving the media in the United States in order to circumvent the problems witnessed in the months following the 2020 election.