Check and Balance

Consider how the three branches of government check and balance" each other.  Consider how a media source like The Washington Post "checks" each branch of government.  What methods does it use?  How important is the role of the media to citizens and voters?  How would you find out about what is going on in government without the media?

To answer this question, I think that its important to look back at the intention of what the checks and balance system was intended to do. No branch is meant to have more power over the other and every branch has some form of authority to check the actions of the other two branches (to some degree). The problem that hypothetically could arise, and has in my opinion, is the issue of all three branches not checking each other and operating at their own free will. This is where the purpose of the media is supposed to come in and check the government so that citizen can be informed and move to either support or protest the actions of any of the three branches. This provision is not fool proof either because of its dependency on accurate and objective reporting of the actions of each branch. When the reporting is not objective, it hampers the ability for the public to fully understand the situation and be able to act with accurate information. 

Without the media in past decades, there was no way for the general public to know and understand the actions of the government without being directly involved and present in hearings, committees, town halls, etc. However, this has changed as technology has progressed because new channels of communication have been opened between politicians and the public via the internet and channels on social media. This has allowed a new level of dialogue as well as accountability. However these new forms of communication should still be considered and evolution of media and without new and traditional media, public involvement and knowledge of our political system would be just as difficult as any other generation.