Chad Adams talks about "Politics and Media" while taking part in the Liberty Lecture Series at Central Carolina Community College.
SANFORD - Getting an accurate perspective on political issues is becoming harder than ever before as media become fragmented, influenced by distinct agendas and focused on drawing attention, according to former Lee County Commissioner Chad Adams, speaking on April 21 at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center.
"Politics and Media" was part of the Liberty Lecture Series at Central Carolina Community College.
Focusing on three hot-button political issues -- global warming, green energy, and North Carolina's recent passage of House Bill 2 -- Adams gave his assessment of how media can promote one side of an issue while avoiding other important questions.
In the case of green energy, Adams said the typical media spin emphasizes feel-good messages and how green energy is clean to produce. But what media ignore are questions like how much land is required to generate alternative energy and how expensive is it to produce.
Adams, who currently is host of the internet radio program, "The Chad Adams Show on the Daily Pundit Network," said those kind of issues are important to consider when cheap, abundant energy is what drives the economy.
He encouraged his audience to research the facts; understand that branding is an inevitable part of news, politics, and marketing; and be discerning while consuming media.
"Sadly, news is about attention, a lot of times, more than it is actual news," Adams said. "I routinely get [on my phone] ... some big news flash. It's not a news flash. Kim Kardashian said something today. I don't care.
"What news is and what news was is very different."
One of the growing challenges, Adams said, is the exploding number of news outlets, including social media like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. While new media offer benefits as well, their shorter formats -- just 140 characters in the case of Twitter -- and the lack of fact checking performed by traditional media make it harder to get reliable information.
"A lot of it is unverified," Adams said, "so you can say pretty much anything you want."
Adams' presentation was the third and final in this year's Liberty Lecture Series. It followed lectures by N.C. State professors Andrew Taylor titled "American Republic" and Ann Egalite on "School Choice: Landscape, Theory and Research."
Chad Adams talks about "Politics and Media" while taking part in the Liberty Lecture Series at Central Carolina Community College.