Research Paper Topic

My topic for this research paper has to do with democracy and the media (television, newspaper, internet, etc.). My overall question is going to be… how does the media have an influence on a democratic society? Is this influence a positive or negative one? I am going to research both sides of this argument and give supporting evidence for both of them. Democracy has a lot to do with society and communication, and the media definitely covers the communication aspect of it. Of course, without the media it would be hard for communication to occur among the citizens of different parts of the country, but does an individual’s availability to the media have an influence what part he/she plays in a democratic society? The media can be good for all of these reasons, but it can also take away from the whole idea of individualism and democracy, which is what our country is based on. It can encourage conformity to specific cause, especially if they only display the negative aspects of something. For example, this can be seen in politics, especially with the recent election. Hopefully, as I research this topic further, I will be able to give specific examples for both sides of the argument.