Is the Media an Entity?

I was watching the FoxNews financial show with Neil Cavuto this afternoon. While discussing the possible financial ramifications of an indictment against members of the Bush administration for the Plame leak fiasco, Cavuto finally brought an interesting thought to the forefront. He asked whether or not this story would have an affect on the markets because he wondered whether or not the "viewers at home" cared about the story as much as the media did.

I find this question very interesting. I'm not so naive that I doubt that media types have opinions - in fact, strong opinions about the world that permeate their reporting. However, does the "media" as an opinion-holding entity really exist? Should it?

This is why Cavuto's question is so interesting. Why on Earth does the media "care" about something more than average Americans? The media should be reporting what is happening in the world - it shouldn't be an entity that "cares" about one story more than another. It should attempt to most closely represent the news stories that are taking place in the world!

This is the problem with the modern media. It considers its purpose not to report the news, but to bring about social and governmental change. The media, in many cases, chooses to cover the stories that "need" to be reported by their own bizarre definition of what is important.