Blog #3 Intellectual Diversity

Based on our reading from The Space of Opinion: Media Intellectuals and the Public Sphere, it seems mostly politicians, political science theorists and political statisticians represent more than a minor role in media commentary. However, this changes depending on what media and public platform we look at. For instance, news channels that feature talk show hosts or the elite New York Times are documented to use more political agenda and commentary to set the tone, while newspapers like the nationally distributed USA Today have used "less elite" individuals (such as literary members, environmental intellectuals, and historians, etc). I personally don't see as many diverse intellectual opinions from the fields of psychology, sociology, biology, geography, engineering, etc. unless the magazine or newspaper is catered strictly to that particular field (i.e. Discover Magazine, National Geographic, Psychology Today). Maybe I am just not reading enough intellectual commentary though.

The diversity of the intellectual or philosophical perspectives depend on the autonomy in which each is granted. The New York Times uses their editorial board to make decisions regarding the content in which they print, and the decisions may be under scrutiny by the head of the Times and other journalists in the field. Smaller, and sometimes more autonomous, media sources have the ability to represent less politically driven opinions and support other intellectual fields. 

I definitely feel the political perspective, especially in light of Trump's presidential honeymoon period, is over-represented in media discussions. It seems everyone has his or her opinion and needs a way to extend the rhetoric (or debate) through media. As of now I can't think of ones that are particularly stigmatized, but racial inequality and the role of women in the media are two categories that are definitely under-represented.