"Obama Pushes for Open Internet in China"

I came across an article that talked about President Obama's first-ever trip to the Communist-ruled China. During his trip, the President met with students in Shanghai at a town hall meeting in an attempt to persuade the Chinese government to stop censoring the Internet. He held the position that "the more freely information flows, the stronger society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable, and they can begin to think for themselves". I felt as though this article fit perfectly within the topic of "Mass Media and Politics" because it emphasized the impact of the media on both citizens and politics.
As we have discussed in class, the media definitely serves as a major player within politics. The most important role of the media is to keep the public up to date and informed with information pertaining to issues affecting the country and the world. Because the Internet is now becoming people's number one sources of information, it is imperative that citizens be able to have total access to the Internet in order to become informed of current issues. In fact, even the White House uses social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter in order to promote its agenda. Therefore, I agree with President Obama when he stated that, "freedom of expression and worship, unfettered access to information, and unrestricted political participation are not principles held by the United States; instead, they are universal rights".
The article made clear that current conditions in China make it VERY difficult for citizens to access the Internet. For instance, the article stated that "China has more than 250 million Internet users and employs some of the world's tightest controls over what they see. The country is often criticized for having the so-called "Great Firewall of China," which refers to technology designed to prevent unwanted traffic from entering or leaving a network". In fact, although President Obama's speech at the town hall meeting was streamed online by way of China's two largest national Internet portals, the quality of such was choppy and hard to hear. How can citizens be able to understand the full scope of such speech when they can barely hear or see any part of it?!
Overall, throughout his trip to China, "President Obama spoke bluntly about the benefits of individual freedoms in a place known for limiting them". To me, the Internet not only serves as a way for the public to stay up to date with information, but it also creates some accountability for government officials as well. As we are all very much aware, the media plays such an important role within a country by serving as a connection between the public and politics.