I am a constant consumer of media. Like most millennials, my face spends way too much time in front of a phone screen. I scroll through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram like it’s my job. But one of my biggest media guilty pleasures isn’t my over usage of social media, or my dark love for reality shows, but the news.
My love runs deep, so deep that my roommates always know I was the last one home because as they open the front door they hear the TV blaring the show-of-the-hour throughout the house. It is said that our parents’ habits, become our habits. In this case, it must just be true.
My earliest memories of watching the news dates back around 12 years. Waking up every Sunday to my parents drinking coffee watching Meet the Press moderated, then, by Tim Russert.
Next, were my middle school aged days, before school everyday at 6:30 AM to Morning Joe in the background, my dad’s morning talk of choice.
And today, a love for political talk-roundtable style shows like Fox’s The Five and MSNBC’s With All Due Respect. These group or duet hosted shows are engaging and conversational. The talk is less policy heavy and has more personality. There has always been something enticing and intriguing about being able to understand and talk about politics and current events.
It was not until college that watching the news became something more than a means of entertainment. It became a way to better understand assignments and discussions, helped me get out of bed in the morning, and changed my perspective on what is really important.
The first thing I do when I get out of bed in the morning is turn on the news. Not only does it prep me for my classes for the day—which more often than not involve discussion about current events and politics, but it helps me wake up just as listening to music would. I am able to do my routine without being fixated on the screen, because after all what they are saying is what is important, not how they look.
Being well versed in current events and history can help change the landscape of class interactions. There is a type of power that comes with being able to further discussion in classes instead of hiding in your chair when your professor asks a question about the current state of the political environment.
Not only can this knowledge further your stance in the classroom, but can also make you a better competitor for internship and job opportunities. Arzu Tarimcilar, former vice president at the Hill + Knowlton Washington D.C. office, said that one of her favorite questions to ask potential employees is where they get their news. She noted, “the world is so small now, it is important to be news savvy and to listen to world news.”
Being well informed is a process. You cannot read the news one day and be set… the news cycle is 24 hours 7 days a week. Tiny intakes daily can help you piece-by-piece better understand important aspects of the world around you.
College is a place where people are constantly influencing the way you think— professors who are not so shy about their political views and peers who seem to only see one side of the argument. It is our responsibility as young adults to take what we hear and challenge those opinions.
It is ignorant to think the news we hear is not filtered in some type of way by news corporations. Networks will set their agendas and put more on emphasis on some aspects of a story and less on others. Look at both sides of the story, understand the reasons why, and don’t assume you must check all of the right or left boxes.
In the current media environment we live in today, more college students might be able to tell you the name of the main character in Grey’s Anatomy or the newest Kardashian drama, but are unable to name their local representative or worse, not able to tell you who the vice president is.
Luckily for me, I grew up watching the news and still today enjoy my daily (preferably all day long) dose. But for others, the news is still something seen as boring and almost toxic due to the current state of the 2016 election. Hold out hope… it is almost over soon (12 days and counting).
*Images belong to NBC, Hulu, Fox News Insider