Many people rely on the media to bring important local and national issues to the forefront. If the mainstream media does not report on an issue, then it is often overlooked. I believe this may be the case of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, as its coverage has significantly declined.
How often do we count the uses of water throughout our day? There are too many times to list, right? We often take water for granted because we are accustomed to having access to it.
Imagine not having clean water for daily usage. It would be horrible considering the countless times and ways we use water on a day-to-day basis.
Unfortunately, the people of Flint, Michigan, are experiencing that exact nightmare. According to Leonard N. Fleming of The Detroit News, Flint’s lines were weakened by untreated river water lacking the necessary anti-corrosion chemicals following Flint’s water source switch in 2014, while city government was under state oversight. Ever since then, Flint has been left with harmful, contaminated water.
According to Monique Judge of The Root, the people of Flint, Michigan, have been without clean water in their pipes for 1,462 days. The Flint water crisis began on April 25, 2014, and since this report was in 2018, the days without clean water have increased.
However, the media has not done a great job covering this crisis. In the beginning, it was a headliner and talked about almost everywhere. Over time, as each year passed, there has been less and less discussion on the topic.
The media have stopped reporting about the crisis as much as they once did. Instead, there has been more talk and controversy about the latest Kardashian drama and other issues of that nature.
Even the president has an emergency declaration for the building of the border wall, which is not nearly as important as having clean water. Have the people of Flint who are suffering from lead-contaminated water been completely disregarded?
They have not had clean water in nearly five years. There are countless families who are impacted and exposed to this water. Why has nothing been done about the water?
According to Trevor Bach of US News, residents still line up by the hundreds outside churches for early morning water deliveries and families maintain military-like shower rituals. I cannot visualize what those people may be experiencing now.
Because of the media’s lack of coverage, many people may have even forgotten about Flint’s need for clean water. Some may not even be up to date on how Flint is doing.
The entire purpose of the media is to inform and educate the general public. It has failed in doing this task for the Flint water crisis. I only hope that someday soon, Flint will receive the coverage it deserves and the clean water it so desperately needs.
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The media has failed those in Flint, Michigan
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