Blog # 9

Comments on Cruz Travels to Cancun The media for decades has had a fundamental role and voice in politics. It is not surprising to witness newspapers and magazines using a substantial chunk of information for political discourse. At the commence of the 20th Century, when broadcast media paved the way for television reports and radio briefs, it brought the light of political stories into the public's eye (Bruns et al., 2015). Newspapers followed a similar path, later on, functioning as a watchdog and providing the readers with significant news coverage on up-to-date events and emerging issues. However, the media's role in politics is questionable as individuals are always left questioning who really is usually behind specific stories. Illustratively, it is doubtful how the CNN February 18, 2021 article, "Cruz travels to Cancun, Mexico, as Texans remain without power amid a historic winter storm," covered the story, branding Senator Ted Cruz as unconcerned about the welfare of Texans (Murphy et al., 2020). Does it imply Cruz does not necessarily have to travel at all just because his state is struggling with a winter disaster? Cruz does not have the on-the-ground role in mitigating the winter storm's adversities as he is only but an elected official to the federal office. Rather, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is majorly to blame for water and electricity outages but not Cruz (Murphy et al., 2020). Regardless of the hand that encourages the media coverage on some matters, media coverage on sieved political areas certainly raises significant questions among the public. Often the media can be seen chasing stories the government advocates them to go after (Bruns et al., 2015). Arguably, the article on Cruz did not cover and received the appropriate proportion of the issue at hand. Surprisingly, the various media outlets covered the story the same way, including the CNBC, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and ABC News. They all harshly criticized the senator's trip to Mexico, terming it unnecessary, and foul play to the citizens he should be representing though it was just a short trip to spend time with his family (Murphy et al., 2020). Amid Ted Cruz's backlash and the commonly visible media intersection and politics, the media's perceived political power and the reality of matters must be carefully navigated when dealing with political issues. Therefore, there is a need to transform the media and its connectedness to depict political matters. Precisely, the media is supposed to provide information and analysis on essential topics, but not explicitly keenly following up on individuals and backlashing their private life (Bruns et al., 2015) References Bruns, A., Enli, G., Skogerbo, E., Larsson, A. O., & Christensen, C. (Eds.). (2015). The Routledge companion to social media and politics. Routledge. books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OK1ACwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=media+intersection+and+politics&ots=AtbBzvWDRE&sig=O-6coZ_VWLzeGqVMMVklMfvKzxc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=media%20intersection%20and%20politics&f=false Murphy, P. P., Klein, B., Diaz, D., Raju, M., & Allen, K. (2021, February 18). Cruz calls Cancun, Mexico, trip 'a mistake' as Texans remain without power amid historic winter storm. CNN. edition.cnn.com/2021/02/18/politics/ted-cruz-cancun-texas-disaster-electricity-power-water/index.html

Cruz travels to Cancun, Mexico, as Texans remain without power amid historic winter storm CNN)Sen. Ted Cruz and his family flew to Cancun, Mexico, he confirmed in a statement to CNN, as a winter disaster in his home state left millions without power or water. Analysis: Cruz's Cancun trip violates an unwritten rule of politics. Cruz, a Texas Republican, said in the statement he flew down for a night because his daughters "asked to take a trip with friends." Sen. Ted Cruz is seen boarding a flight Wednesday at Houston IAH airport bound for Cancun, Mexico. "With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon," he said in the statement. "My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas. We want our power back, our water on, and our homes warm. My team and I will continue using all our resources to keep Texans informed and safe." Cruz tested negative for Covid-19 before returning, an aide told CNN. His statement comes hours after multiple Twitter users posted photos showing Cruz and his family at Houston's airport and aboard a flight bound for Cancun, Mexico. Catastrophic winter storm moves east The trip was immediately criticized, including by Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat representing southwest Houston, who tweeted a photo of Cruz aboard a flight, saying Cruz was flying south "while the state was freezing to death and having to boil water." Cruz's office also requested that the Houston Police Department assist the senator during his departure from Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told CNN Thursday. The police request from Cruz's office is not unusual as members of Congress have been advised by law enforcement to seek police assistance as they travel by air. Congress is not in session this week following the President's Day holiday. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) carries his luggage at the Cancun International Airport before boarding his plane back to the U.S., in Cancun, Mexico February 18, 2021. Cruz, who was retweeting notices about electricity and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday, has been silent on social media Thursday. In a radio interview Monday, Cruz told people to "stay home" and not "risk it. Keep your family safe and just stay home and hug your kids." As an official elected to federal office, Cruz doesn't have an on-the-ground role in the response to the storm, but natural disasters are often a time in which constituents often reach out to their elected officials for help and access to resources.