Why Can't OWS get off the Ground?

Occupy Wall Street has been getting more coverage little by little over the past week. But the protests have actually been going on for almost three weeks now. What has made the media so slow to react? And when they finally did react, why at first was it so dismissive? Is American media so disenchanted with protests now that they give them no heed until violence breaks out? Do protests have to contain a concise purpose? A sense of unity in order for it to become legitimate? According to most mainstream media outlets, yes. 

When coverage first began, it was quick to label and dismiss the protestors as societal oddballs, the weird hippies and delinquents of New York. But as it spread and grew, they realized that image wouldn’t fly anymore. So they started to question the purpose, since so many protestors were giving different answers when asked why. But they are missing the point of the whole thing. There’s no way they can ask for specific things to be done, if they don’t want to keep the current system in the first place. You don’t ask the system to change if you don’t like the system fundamentally.That's the whole point of Occupy WallStreet, to show the American people's general dissatisfaction with the government and the way society is run now, and the desire to change it. Issues such as employment, homelessness, poverty, corporate corruption and greed are all part of this massive movement.

Occupy Wall Street at Foley Square

The fact that the media has to have video of violent reactions by police and rights violations in order to cover it properly reflects the growing sentiment that the media is “in bed” with the “1%”. And this might be the case. Media is run by some of the wealthiest people in the world and corruption can be rampant. I mean, just look at the case of Rupert Murdoch. That is basically the problem in a nutshell with the media. A corrupt media with its own agenda does not reflect the will of the people and for a long time now this has been going on. So much so that people nowadays don’t question what the media says. They shouldn’t have to, media should be objective, but it’s not so they should. But they don’t and that’s where it goes wrong. When real issues are being dismissed, or set aside, or reported in a biased manner, the media is not doing its job. And so far, this has been the case.