Riley Manion: Never Stay Silent Blog

The government is inarguably the most powerful thing in America. Nothing or no one is above the government, which some argue, is America's biggest issue. The government, though, has had one big roadblock for centuries: the press. Since the beginning of government, the press has been a prominent resource to not only promote ideas of the government but also to call them out for wrongdoing or disinformation. This idea is transhistoric,  and has spread throughout multiple historical periods.  Defining the relationship between the press and government is much more than what meets the eye, though. It is more than black and white, or this and that. The transhistoric relationship is extremely difficult to understand, however, it is something that must be acknowledged and analyzed. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to ass

  Yellow Journalism and Muckracking are two key ideas in the spread of journalistic ideas that many people view as controversial. But what is the difference between them? Or is there not a difference? Yellow Journalism, by definition, is "journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration". To put things more simply, the modern comparison to yellow journalism is the idea of fake news and its affect on reliable news sources in today's media.  The idea of Yellow Journalism came about in the 19th century and, according to the Office of the Historian , "originated in the competition over the New York City Newspaper market between major newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. At first, yellow journalism had nothing to do with reporting...". From there, the idea yellow journalism spread and became prominent through war reporting. News outlets used sensationalism to spread facts, ideas, and events to attract the public more to

            If there is one word to describe Barbara Walters, it would be trailblazer. Walters has paved paths in every aspect of journalism and will go down as perhaps one of if not the most influential female journalists in history. With respect to the women who came before her, Walter's did not accept no as an answer and was the first female to do many things in the journalism industry. Barbara was born in September of 1931 in Boston, MA to a very wealthy family. Walters' father was a prominent night club owner who brought in a lot of money for her family. Walters graduated high school in 1949 and shortly after, attended Sarah Lawrence College where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in English. After her father passed away, their family endured financial struggles and Barbara had to step up and fill that burden when she was just 22-23 years old. In a 1996 interview, Walters said  “Until I was about twenty-three or twenty-four, we were very rich. I can go around New

                      Benjamin Franklin's name is etched in the history book for a multitude of reasons. Generations of people, past, present and future will know the name Benjamin Franklin as he was a crucial part of not only American democracy, but American history. A large part of why this is connects back to the representation of Benjamin Franklin within the press both back then and now. As aforementioned, Benjamin Franklin contributed insurmountable efforts to American history and has changed the landscape of politics, culture, and journalism. The press has acknowledged these efforts as he is often referenced to be an American hero, whether it be from articles written during his time or articles written in present day.                                                             "Benjamin Franklin was, at the age of 70, the oldest man to sign the Declaration of Independence. He had done more than anyone else to keep America within the British Empire; and now he was to play

 Getting news that is beneficial to everybody can be slightly difficult nowadays. The real and full truth seems rare with big news outlets and bias is destined to be present. Many people including myself have fallen into this trap, and rely solely on news sources such as CNN or Fox. As mentioned, this is something that I admittedly have struggled with. Until really thinking about how bias certain news sources could be, I used the same exact websites to get information. I am still working on finding good, reliable sources that I like, so for this blog, I am going to explain my previous top 5 news sources before taking this class. 1. CNN As someone who shares similar beliefs with CNN reporters, I feel that this source is an easy way to get information that I am interested in, especially when it focuses on issues that are relevant to me or what I believe in. It is much easier to read an article to agree with and can relate to, hence the reason I would always get information from CNN. 2. E

Survivors ready? Survivor fans all across the world have been itching to hear Jeff Probst say those words for months now. The hit reality show used to premiere twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. However, fans have been having withdrawals as the last season to air premiered over a year ago today (March 4th, 2021).  Many people are asking the same question though. Why? Why can't they be filming? Gathering a cast and crew and flying to a private island does seem slightly difficult in the midst of a global pandemic. However, Survivor 40: Winners at War was able to do it, so why not do it again? Although this season was filmed at the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the producers were able to work around the unknown and put on arguably one of the greatest survivor seasons ever.  This proves that putting on this show during a pandemic is possible. Is it easy? No. Is it ideal? No. However, Survivor is one of the most popular shows on Television, so putting on a