State Sen. Beth Bye (D-West Hartford) recently met with West Hartford students at Hall High School.
State Sen. Beth Bye (left) recently spoke with students at Hall High School about the role of the media in politics. Submitted photo
By Emma Chozick, Grade 11, Hall High School
Connecticut Senator Beth Bye knows that politicians often use the media to shape how they want to be seen, while the media uses politicians to shape their own stories, and she recently spoke to Hall High School students about the media’s critical role in politics. Bye’s discussion in Dr. James Shivers’ “21st Century Studies: Media and the Critical Eye” class showed how that role has impacted topics as diverse as bears in Torrington and state budget cuts.
Shivers has taught his students that we live in a world where media has the power to decide who we are and how the world views us. For the average American, this isn’t typically an issue; however, for a public figure, especially one in politics, media portrayal is crucial. Journalists and politicians need each other in order to succeed and yet their differing interests sometimes put them in conflict with one another.
Shivers invited Senator Bye to his class, “so the students could have a direct conversation with a politician. Instead of hearing about her work through another media lens, they would have a chance to see firsthand how she relates to the media world,” he said.
Ultimately, Shivers’ goal was met. Many of the students later spoke of the new perspective they had gained after learning how politicians deal with negative or slanted press coverage.
Senior Thomas McManus noted, “I really enjoyed learning about news from someone who makes news rather than just consumes it.”
Perhaps senior Chloe Li took away with her the greatest lesson of all. She explained, “Listening to Senator Bye, watching her in front of me, emphasized the fact that politicians are people. As obvious as it sounds, media sources will often take politician’s words for a twisted spin … It was great to hear Senator Bye’s own experiences with media spin and how she has grown to rise above from the influences of the media.”
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[Editor’s note: Students in Hall High School’s AP Language classes are writing for We-Ha.com about some of the important events and issues at their school.]
I have tremendous respect for Senator Bye but I believe it would have been an even more informative discussion had a journalist also taken part.