Functions of the Media

Article 1: The GOP Takeover in the States http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/13/AR2010111302389.html
This article shows the media’s function of Scorekeeper in politics because it talks about how the Democratic Party has lost many seats to the GOP in the past election. The article says that this was the greatest gain any party has made in state Legislative seats since 1938. It focuses on the amount of seats in state Legislatures that the Democratic Party has lost and how many the Republican party has gained, which is exactly what a Scorekeeper article does, tells you who has the power.
Article 2: Charlie Rangel Found Guilty of 11 Ethics Violations http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111604000.html
This article portrays the media’s role of watchdog because it is talking about Representative Charles B. Rangel, a Democrat from New York. The article states that he was recently was convicted of breaking 11 separate congressional rules correlated to personal finances and his fundraising efforts for the City College of New York. This helps expose his wrongdoings as a representative and the illegal things he was doing with money that was not meant for personal use. This is exactly what the watchdog function of the media is.
Article 3: Salvatore Giunta awarded Medal of Honor by President Obama http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111600662.html
This article is an example of the gatekeeper function of the media because it informs the people of something that we did not know before. The article tells about Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta and his receipt of the Medal of Honor. He is the only living Medal of Honor recipient from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The article goes on to describe what he did to earn the medal, saving his friends, who later died, from insurgents in Afghanistan under a “wall of bullets”.