Since Sept. 11, many diplomatic trips have been made by major U.S. government officials, most of which have been heavily covered.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have both made a significant amount of media coverage with their respective trips.
But what about all the other regular ol’ Americans, like the Rev. Al Sharpton, making diplomatic trips overseas? Don’t they deserve a little coverage too?
In all the hoopla following the events in September, somehow, news about the Rev. Al Sharpton visiting Israel for three days was left out. Maybe this event was just not pertinent enough for major media outlets to cover. Maybe the Rev. Al Sharpton isn’t an important enough figure for America to cover on their networks. Who was responsible for this mishap?
I’m beginning to think that maybe the media is not as free with speech as we think it is. It almost seems that we are fed most of the news that is compiled, rather than there being fair, informative, and impartial reporting. This is more obvious than ever in this time where everyone is watching the news about the developments of the “War Against Terrorism.”
There obviously have to be some things that are held back from the general public, but most of that information would probably cause mass hysteria or people just wouldn’t care about it.
Why hold back such a story about such an important civil rights figure traveling to Israel to show solidarity with victims of terrorism? I always thought such an issue was pretty newsworthy. I guess hearing about the incessant bombing of Afghanistan was more important.
Jared McArthur, 19, is a junior public relations student from Orlando. He can be reached at Jarmcar187@aol.com.