The media can be seen as an entity that either promotes issues in a negative or positive way. This entity allows us to consume messages geared toward changing the way we think of one another, to the way we live our everyday lives. These days, there is so much news happening that sometimes consumers cannot tell the difference between good journalism and the “crap” that someone has thrown together just to satisfy the needs of the masses. With the 2016 Presidential Election starting, most news outlets will follow the circus known as the Democratic and Republican primaries.
One of the most notable incidents is the current ongoing issue between Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Fox Political Commentator Megyn Kelly. Kelly asked Trump about his insulting remarks toward women over these past few years. Trump took great offense to this question saying it was “extremely unfair.” The Republican debate had one of its highest ratings on the Fox network. With that, some were quick to take Trump’s side in the argument saying Kelly was out of line for the question she asked him.
Kelly responded to criticism with the quote, “I will not apologize for doing good journalism.” Lines have been drawn between supporters for Kelly and supporters of Trump. Story lines such as these are not uncommon around the time of political elections. The question becomes, when is good journalism not to be criticized? Kelly did a great job of asking tough questions to candidates who may at some point run our nation and need to answer questions about their past. What makes Donald Trump any different just because he is a frontrunner? Trump had no problem with answering questions about ISIS or immigration, so why did he dodge a question about his attitude/past comments toward women?
This is not the first time Trump has made radical comments toward women. In April , he was quoted saying, “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?” Why aren’t people standing up and voicing concerns when Trump makes these comments. Journalists are people who are dedicated to finding the truth, even if that means crtitizing past comments that people like Trump and other candidates become upset with when comments such as this one are found. Kelly should be commended by the nation for asking such tough questions to candidates who could possibly have the power to start wars, save an economy, or put us in further debt.
The issue is not that Kelly asked the wrong question, it is that we live in such a world where a man can speak his mind, but if a woman decides to do the same she is labeled as something negative. If a male journalist asked Donald Trump the same question, would the backlash have been as great as it has been against Megyn Kelly? Sometimes these small problems are just hiding bigger problems that we need to address in our society.
