Although I agree that people need to become more involved in our democracy, I do not necessarily share Lippmann’s viewpoint that the information put to the public must be controlled by the elite. After researching and presenting on Edward L. Bernays, I’m more likely to agree with him, that “Today the privilege of attempting to sway public opinion is everyone’s (p. 51 of his Manipulation Public Opinion text).” Although he wrote that article in 1928, I think it extremely applies today in the blogosphere and citizen journalism. We DO have the power to change things, we just have to get out there and do it. Lippmann’s ideas are grand, but we will never have a media free of outside control. It just won’t happen.
So, I think the viewer must learn to take what they hear and add their own view. It’s easy to get caught up in the news and what is being emphasized in the media, but if we honestly work for what we think is right, we have the power of swaying the public. As Bernays pointed out, similar to Dewey, education is key. Swaying public opinion is based on providing more information. As an educator myself, I see daily in the eyes of students that in order to have a change of mind, you must be presented with more information. Let’s go seek out some of that for ourselves and bring the power back to the democracy.
So, I think the viewer must learn to take what they hear and add their own view. It’s easy to get caught up in the news and what is being emphasized in the media, but if we honestly work for what we think is right, we have the power of swaying the public. As Bernays pointed out, similar to Dewey, education is key. Swaying public opinion is based on providing more information. As an educator myself, I see daily in the eyes of students that in order to have a change of mind, you must be presented with more information. Let’s go seek out some of that for ourselves and bring the power back to the democracy.
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