Research Paper on:
Media Depiction of American Power and Wealth

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Conversely, those who have little or no money or power, to continue with the analogy, are stuck like Red Riding Hood, wondering why her grandmothers teeth are suddenly so long  and sharp. Suffice it to say, both examples are extremes on the end of the truth. The portrayal by the media of wealth and power in the United States is,  on the whole, inaccurate and biased to say the least. Why does democracy work? Is it a by-product of the Constitution? Is it the free flowing exchange of ideas and  the competitive spirit that abounds which allows it to prosper? This is the proverbial Chicken and the egg syndrome. Trying to decide which came first, democracy or business, is nearly  impossible. Yet, the media continues, in story after story, to chronicle the abuses perpetrated by corporate organizations on the little guy, when in truth, without big business, this country  more than likely would not be the superpower that it is today. Most Marxists will state that democracy is a great idea, but is fundamentally flawed when implemented in a  capitalist society. This seems to be the slant that most of the news agencies take as well. They argue that the wealthy in the United States have tremendous social and  economic advantages over the working class that undermine political equality, a presupposition for viable democracy. From the nightly reports on graft and corruption at the corporate level, it seems quite  clear that they believe that the important economic issues-investment and control over production-are not the province of democratic politics but, rather, the domain of a small number of wealthy firms  and individuals seeking to maximize their profit in competition with each other. In other words, the real power comes not from the government by the people and for the people,