Media's Role In The Civil Rights Movement

Media plays a notable role in the global society. Its presence is abundant- whether from television, radio, internet or book, the media’s existence is one of pertinence. Although internet is a fairly recent phenomenon, other forms of media have co-existed for decades. They have provided both entertainment and information to a troubled nation, allowing for comfort and unease to arise. The myriad of people reached through mass media illustrates its significance in impacting beliefs and ideologies. While the media has a responsibility to report unbiased facts, both sides of a story are not always published. Each platform has its own perspective, or bias, that exposes viewers to a variety of point of views, allowing for interconnection. The most
The entire nation was brought to the attention of the lack of basic civil rights present in the south, and the many inequalities and denials African American’s faced. During the time of the 1950’s and 60’s, the United Stated was a fundamentally racist nation. However, other than in the South, the Nazi terrors in Europe made vocal racism an immoral position to have. In polite society, even those who had oppressive views would deny such ideals and began to reject government policies increasingly. The conscious of the nation was turned due to the coverage, by the media, that exposed the many brutalities of the South. While most whites still harbored discriminatory values, a shift in attitudes was projected as only a few (outside of the South) favored limiting blacks their civil liberties. This shift was a result to the horrific images of beatings and murders that the media exposed to the nation. The new medium of television was able to provide powerful photographs directly into the nations living room. While the importance of print media was still evident, television coverage acted as the defining factor for the civil rights