I have just looked at The Sun's website for the first time and found it very difficult to find any news on there. As far as I can see it is all celebrity gossip which is of no use to anyone! I find it quite worrying that this newspaper (if you can call it a NEWSpaper) has the highest circulation in the UK. That means that this newspaper has the highest potential influence in the UK - they could print anything and I would bet that many people would beleive it, unquestioning.

The Independent's website, however, is not inundated with gossip, it is clearly layed out and easy to see the news. The top story on the Independent's website at the moment is about banking charges that affect everyone. The Sun's top stories circulate from a Jet Man's crash, X factor gossip and I'm a celebrity gossip.

I think that the newspapers have a responsibility to print the truth, because many people will beleive anything they read - therefore giving some political parties an advantage if they have an affiliation with a particular newspaper. I also think that they should try to be less biased - this is why I like the Independent, they print the truth as they have nothing to gain from supporting a political party. However I'd like to think that people would go out and find other evidence to form a fair opinion on important issues.

The fact that I couldn't see any evidence of any serious issues being reported on the Sun's website is slightly unfair - I think people have a right to know what is going on in their lives - having said this though I would also like to expect that people wouldn't buy a newspaper such as the Sun to become informed on such matters.

Reality shows and soaps have a certain type of follower and the stereotype of this individual is one who does not take much interest in many intellectual matters. The sort of television that they view could be blamed for this outcome but I do not think this is the case. I beleive that most people have the ability so separate what they watch on these programs and real life and therefore the above programs should have little influence.

Informed Citizens?

An informed citizen is supposed to be able to make informed decisions. This is important in a democratic society. The media and the Government can only provide the information for us to then utilise. I think that it is our duty to take an interest in how our country is run because it affects our everyday lives. I’ve always thought that it was quite hypocritical of people that complained about politics etc, who didn’t even care to learn about our political system or to vote! People can be very susceptible to the media and that has the potential for great change. For example in recent times the BNP has gained a lot of popularity, I believe this to be because only some of their beliefs and policies are portrayed to general public. If the same people took it upon themselves to read their manifesto on their website I think that quite a few of them would be shocked and would change their minds!! It is because of precisely this that it is an individual’s own responsibility to be informed and to gain a non-biased knowledge. Only then can decisions at a higher level be made and truly reflect the views of the population.

There is a lot that I don’t know that I probably should but I know how to find information that I need so that I can hear all sides of an argument before forming an opinion. I think I am a sufficiently informed citizen and that there are many people who are not as informed as me and who will believe everything they hear in the media. This is why the obvious media, such as newspapers, is not the only way that people should be informed, there are many other ways to research important issues such as books, the internet, documentaries and even word of mouth. This is how I become informed on serious issues. It is important to be able to tell if something is biased and what is true and what is not.

Complicated decisions are made easier when they are shared. The complicated decisions that affect our everyday lives should not just be left to someone else to deal with because they are too difficult. I think that with these decisions it would be best to involve many people (informed people) together to decide, together, what it is best to do. This way the result reflects the views of the people more than it would if left up to only a few people.