This post is due by Tuesday, March 4 @ midnight for full credit.
Email late posts to rob.williamsATmadriver.com for partial credit.
Read our MEDIA@SOCIETY book, assigned chapter above.
In a SINGLE blog post below, provide for the chapter:
1. A single sentence, IYOW, that captures the chapter's THESIS (main argument).
2. THREE specific pieces of supporting documentation - ideas, concepts, stats, data - to bolster your thesis for the chapter. (Use 2 - 3 sentences for each.)
3. A single PERSONAL story of 3-4 sentences that connects the chapter directly with your own personal media experiences.
4. A SINGLE specific question you have after reading and blogging on the chapter.
Game on,
Dr. W
Media have an influence on what information the public receives via the news and how they receive it and the headlines are colored with a bias that often stems from/ because of the large corporations that own the news provider.
ReplyDeleteFor example, there are some dominant themes that prevail in our news that resonate with well-known American ideals. Further, these “dominant messages that circulate in mainstream news media typically favor the interests of more powerful voices and agendas in society,” which is unfair (111). Political bias also exists in news media and conservatives have even admitted that “the liberal media were never that powerful and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures” (114). This being said, Americans should realize that, rather than blindly believing the one-sided story they are presented, they need to do their own research and fact check, which is, and always has been, crucial. Media can also shape public opinion and “function as narrators and agents of change” through television shows and movies (119). This can be seen in the more modern take on traditional values younger people support, such as their approval of gay and lesbian marriages.
This chapter discussed the bias present in mainstream news media and the “liberal media” myth that used to exist. My project also focuses on this subject and how conservative voices and opinions actually dominate the majority of American news. While it would be impossible to have news that is completely unbiased, for it has to be told through some lens- whether it be liberal or conservative, it emphasizes the importance of doing research and getting facts from a variety of sources before forming an opinion.
How did the “liberal media” belief persist for so long when there was evidence to prove that it was incorrect?
(1) I believe the main thesis of this chapter is to show how narratives are used by media to show biased perspectives on political candidates and that media criticism should lie in whether or not the media content are fair or complete, provide verification and documentation, and represent multiple views and voices.
ReplyDelete(2) This chapter delves in political candidacy and how the media are such important, vital presences in determining who gets elected. All of these men that ran for president relied on the narratives generated by the media to help support them. The chapter discusses in length about the “hero” concept, “Indeed, while recent presidential campaigns overflow with talk of values, the main value that usually emerges as central is individual heroism: the notion that one person can stand in for all of us and make a difference in our lives” (106). The chapter also discusses the news as biased media. Giant news corporations such as CBS, NBC and ABC are all owned by even bigger corporations. If the media is the intermediary between political candidacy and the people, then it’s only natural that politicians cater to these giant conglomerates in order to be portrayed positively through the news, “all news is biased. News, after all, is primarily selective storytelling, not objective science” (112). Finally, the chapter discusses how it is our job as citizens to decipher the media, to observe the big picture of what’s going on and not rely on the feed of one source. The chapter references Michael Schudson’s “The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life” which provides a historical review (broken into four eras) of American citizenship. These four eras are “The Deferential Citizen” (1700s-18020s when the only significant citizen was the land-owning, white male. There was a lot of mistrust among average citizens. Very elitist), “The Partisan Citizen” (1820s-1920s when political party rivalries began to emerge. More power still invested in land-owning males), “The Informed Citizens” (1880s-today when all citizens are supposed to be knowledgeable about party politics, individual leaders and contemporary issues) and lastly “The Rights-Bearing Citizen” (1960s-today) where everyone starts declaring individual, civil rights as Americans.”
(3) I don’t really have much experience with the political scene because I’ve never been old enough to vote for the president before, but I do remember my parents really getting into watching the news every night during the 2004 elections when President George W. Bush faced off against Senator John Kerry. My parents were huge advocats of Kerry so it was a big disappointment for them to see Bush walk away with a second term. I remember them complaining about how stupid people were to vote for the same “dipshit” twice in a row. They complained how the system was corrupt and that Bush bought his way in both times. It seems a little anti-patriotic to go and say that our government is corrupt and that there is a lack of integrity in the electoral process, but this chapter definitely helped settle a few questions for me in terms of the “storytelling.”
(4) If all these different sources are telling their own biased opinions on a subject, how are we supposed to find the absolute, scientific truth of the matter? Or is the actual truth just some illusion - a fantasy?
1.) Chapter five focused one the ideas of how and what campaigns, companies and governments share with the general public.
ReplyDelete2.) Presidential election narratives are very interesting because each party takes a different approach to each campaign. “At the 2004 Democratic convention, Kerry’s campaign chose romantic stories full of sea and captain imagery.” (105) These used this cause the country was at war and still recovering from the attacks of 9/11. In the recent age campaigns and companies have taken their advertisements out of journalism to promote themselves on other media outlets. “Over the past fifteen years, most rules restricting the number of media outlets that one company can own have been dismantled.” (107) The mass media section about headlines was interesting because it was possible to make people have certain reactions to titles. This is a main reason that many people don’t like large corporations or governments because the average person normally hears the negative news. “Political campaigns often develop common strategies for attacking the mass media. This plays well with many citizens who have increasingly come to regard mainstream media.’ (123)
3.) I remember the morning after the night that President Barrack Obama announced to America that our Armed Forces had killed Osama Bin Laden. The next morning my journalism teacher, Jason Wallestead, freaked out because he had never seen a headline on the front-page so large in print. On the front of the Star Tribune read, “BIN LADEN IS DEAD.”
4.) How many people in America only read the headlines instead of the entire article?
We mold our lives around what media tells us in terms of the government and presidential elections, yet these media narratives often deceive us and can lead us astray from what we truly believe.
ReplyDeleteAs a society we take extreme pride in believing that America is the land of the free and thus we make our own choices. However, “...another limit of narrative is that our lives don’t usually play out like media narratives” (Media in Society, 106). Just like in the previous chapter, we want our lives to play out like a TV show as the narratives prescribe, but reality does not always follow these narratives which could lead disappointment.
Another issue with this deception, intended or not, is that it’s distorting our morals and ideas within us subconsciously. “What happens, however, when these same networks today- favoring the corporate and political needs of their parent companies- make choices not to cover certain issues that are also important to the functioning of democracy?” (Media in Society, 109). In this regard, it is really important that society becomes media literate in order to counteract corporations who want to get the upper hand and not undermine their own company.
We also must remember that we live in the twenty-first century which is an age of digital mass media. With this comes the to, “...feel cynical about the lack of quality in so much contemporary culture, or we feel burdened by how much information and how many options are now available” (Media in Society, 119). Because of this, we may feel bombarded with news to the point where we feel as though we’re getting an adequate sampling of what we need to know, but in reality this just gives us a false sense of hope.
Personally, I think back to before I was able to vote and I remember feeling naive and trustworthy of what the news was portraying. I distinctly remember that when it was time for me to vote in the previous election, I felt like I did not have a very good grasp of what or who I was voting for. I felt betrayed and deceived by the media to the point where I could not sift through fake scandals and backwards comments in order to truly make an educated and personal vote.
Is there any possibility that how presidential elections are portrayed and covered will change in the near future? How?
The news media places a greater emphasis on a subject’s imagery and narratives rather than the unbiased reputable facts and platforms of politics
ReplyDeletePresidential candidates adopt a specific narrative throughout their campaign for power. President Bush established himself as “a self-proclaimed war president unwavering in his resolve;” (105) with his Texan traditional values and rural photo-shoots, Bush formed himself as a romanticized cowboy who could restore America’s conservative moral compass. There is political bias in news media, “news after all is primarily selective storytelling, not objective science.” (112) Mainstream news media will often follow a form that does not necessarily advance an agenda but creates a tale with good and bad characters. Media is often scapegoated as an attacker of traditional values, as a result of their function as “narrators and agents of change – in everything from fashion and style to technology and politics.” (119) Instead of this viewpoint, media are simply depicting the contemporary changes of society and the changing opinions of a younger more progressive generation.
The news media definitely follows a good guy, bad guy mentality when it reports on a story. In the past election CNN and FOX news would skew their own stories based on their political leanings. I noticed this with Mitt Romney’s “47% of Americans do not pay an income tax” claim. CNN had a field day with this news, using it against Romney, where FOX barely even mentioned it. Newsrooms and the material they report are becoming increasingly partisan.
How will conservative networks fare in a population of more minority, liberal voters?
Chapter five discusses how the media influences us and our views regarding political candidates and campaigns.
ReplyDeleteWhatever we hear on the news tends to be pre-constructed views of what the reporters what us to hear and think. As the text states, “All news is biased. News, after all, is primarily selective story telling, not objective science.” (112) The news is definitely biased, especially depending on which news station you’re watching. Each news station has its own political view that they will subtly, or not so subtly, intertwine within the news.
“Our task, then, as engaged citizens and active critics, is to understand the narrative process that politicians and media industries exploit and to hold them accountable for the worth and substance of the stories they tell –and fail to tell.” (111) This statement is exactly true, because as stated above, a lot of it is selective story telling. A lot of times, they will run stories that they know will get a lot of views and create talk rather than more important stories and headlines that really should be shown.
“In an election year, stories of all shapes and sizes dominate politics and the media landscape.” (103) During election time, there are always different stories and ads on the news about the politicians running. The ones that always stick out to me are the ads on TV that are bashing the other politician in order to make themselves look better and to get people to look at them in a better light.
Anything and everything that a politician does will be highly scrutinized when they are running for office. Way back, Bill Clinton cheated on his wife and had an affair with another woman. I just read online that if Hilary runs for office in 2016, then Bill Clinton’s scandal is “fair game”. This just reassures me that things can resurface, especially when dealing with politicians because anything can be used against you at any time.
My question is how do different news sources decide how they’re going to portray each candidate in a presidential election?
1) This chapter is about how, in things such as political campaigns, the people are told mostly positive things about the candidates; we only hear about their great plans for the country, their ideas that will “fix everything,” without ever taking into account the reality that there are cons to choosing either candidate as well because they only want us knowing the positive things in order to gain votes.
ReplyDelete2)
• “Media are sometimes more illuminating about candidates’ images than the facts of their platforms, records, and plans” (103). The news usually covers things that will promote their image rather than tell the public their actual plans. This is in order to draw in the viewers and perceive the candidate as a great person without really even knowing what they will do for the country.
• “…Thus, presidential elections aren’t just about the traditional political parties –but, more importantly, about who brandishes power, how mass media produce cultural meanings, how those meanings circulate in our culture’s stories and champion particulate values, and how we react to these as key issues that affect the quality of democracy” (107). We tend to care more about how the candidate is viewed in media and in society rather than look at the facts. People today rarely vote for a president because of his plans to take action; they vote based on the candidates’ background, their ability to relate to the average American, their social status, past jobs, maybe even the color of their skin, etc.
• When running in the 2012 presidential election, Romney states that “President Obama says he wants to fundamentally transform America. We [Romney supporters] want to restore America to the founding principles that made the country great” (103). Statements like this then turn into generalizations such as ‘oh, Romney wants to keep things traditional and Obama wants change,’ however, this tells us nothing about their plans or beliefs or what they would do if they were president. People tend to only care about the snippets they see in the headlines in newspapers or blogs or articles online. They assume things based off of simple statements like this and cast their vote without really looking into it any further.
3) I think these things happen in all kinds of elections; people are either one way or another and if they happen to like change over tradition, they will vote for the change and vice versa. No one ever really sticks out the entire article or watch an entire debate. They only take away the general idea that they stand for, and then base their reasons for voting for them/not voting for them off of that. I saw a lot of this during the last two elections. I remember watching something in 2008 where a news caster asked people who they were voting for and why. A lot of people were dead set on voting for their favorite candidate, but couldn’t tell the reporter exactly why they were voting that way. I think its just sad that people feel so confident in their decisions like this when they really don’t know enough about it. I also watched a video in which a reporter went around asking people if they would prefer ObamaCare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. People would say things like “Oh! Definitely the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Obama Care is just ridiculous” when really, they are the same thing.
4) Will there ever be some sort of test or something you’d have to pass before you vote to prove that you at least know some of the things your preferred candidate was planning on doing as president? because there should be
Good work, those of you who have blogged. :)
ReplyDeleteGo go go, DIG MED posse, go!
Dr. Rob
1. Politics in the media seek to rally support for a certain belief, though not usually truthfully or in an unbiased way.
ReplyDelete2. “At the 2004 Democratic convention, Kerry’s campaign chose romantic stories full of sea and captain imagery. For the Republicans in 2004, strategists chose to continue the pre-convention melodrama of President Bush as “strong and steady,” and a self-proclaimed “war president,” unwavering in his resolve” (p.105)
Rather than offering solutions to the problems the country faced, or giving a stance on war-time issues, the candidates focused on portraying a reputation. Both men wanted to be seen as strong figureheads as opposed to thoughtful and cautious decision-makers. There were no real facts, just imagery.
“Although some conservatives criticized mainstream news media for their sympathetic and favorable coverage of civil rights and the women’s movement in the 1960’s, the myth of liberal bias took flight in 1970 when Spiro Agnew…attacked “pointy-headed” liberals and intellectuals in the media…” (p.113).
Instead of shutting the “pointy-headed liberals” down with facts, he attacked them, rallying negative emotions from the population. He wanted others to back him, and knew the most effective way was to gather passion rather than reason.
“Even the ultimate 1960’s protestor Bob Dylan starred in a Victoria’s Secret commercial…At the time, Victoria’s Secret stores throughout America sold a CD of nine Dylan songs for $10.” (p.117)
Victoria’s Secret may have wanted to align themselves with a popular political movement, but, as a lingerie company, could not officially afford to. Instead, they supplied consumers with the music and political views they agreed with, drawing them in. It’s all about money and giving the people what they want.
3. Though I don’t have much experience in politics, as I was unable to vote in the last election, I do recall dozens of commercials with foreboding music and an image of a passionate or yelling candidate. A grave narrator would spew rumors and emotional appeals in an attempt to turn the public away from the candidate they featured. It is essentially mud raking, a cop-out form of journalism that relies heavily on mistruths or even lies, and disregards facts almost completely.
4. Are we, as a population, able to recognize when a journalist is mud-slinging rather than giving us facts?
Chapter five is about how media shapes our ideas towards political campaigns and politicians.
ReplyDeleteWhen we hear about stories on the new they are generally biased to what that reporter thinks. Depending on what new station you are watching the TV station can have its own bias. “All news in biased.” (122)
“Television can influence politicians by ignoring a story; the medium can also extert influence by choosing to frame an issue or event in a particular way.” (111) Media can influence the view by making a situation seem a certain way.
Money is a big factor in influencing media. “As citizens, our responsibility lies in understanding this process in order to resist , limit alter and challenge stories that mislead us and misrepresent what’s actually going on.” (110-111) Politicians that have lots of money are able to shape the media in a way that is favorable to them.
“The key to understanding the synergy between politicians and media executives: Broadcasters don’t tell the full story, save billions, and then charge politicians millions for the TV ads… raise our taxes.”(110) Media influences how the politicians are portrayed. Politicians don’t want to look bad so they agree to the Medias demands.
Every time I watch the news on TV I am aware of what station I am watching on and what kind of biases the TV station might have towards the news item.
Is there any way to take the bias out of them media and just a story be based purely on facts?
1. Chapter 5 discusses how the media influences presidential elections and they are often biased but it is important to be an informed citizen to recognize and react to this.
ReplyDelete2.
The media has the power to shape the elections and even sway the votes toward one candidate. The presidential campaigns spend millions of dollars on their media campaigns because they can make or break an election. “…The politics of meaning: how media reflect and define often unequal relations in power throughout contemporary society and what kind of citizens we need to be with regard to the battles over power and meaning” (p. 107)
In today’s society the media tries to force certain ways of thinking onto their viewers. They transform the candidates into an item and they try to sell them to you. “A much more straightforward form of using culture to sell (or distort) political messages is, of course, through political advertising. Since the 1950’s, political consultants have been imitating market-research and advertising techniques to sell their candidates.” (p. 117)
“Schudson sees citizens adapting to a cultural environment that is overloaded with information provided in a daily conversation, cell phone chatter, twenty-four-seven cable news, Web sites, blogs, radio and TV talk shows, and regular print media. He asks us citizens to monitor this media terrain.” (p. 127) We constantly have advertisements and biased information being thrown at us at all angles and it is our job as informed citizens to decipherer, which are one-sided, and which are factual.
3. In high school, during French class we looked at the French political campaigns between the two candidates Francois Hollande and Nicholas Sarkozy. In America, the candidates leave out any personal information so it is strictly politics and business. However, in France the media can show information about their private life in order to get the upper hand. Hollande had an affair with an actress and it was broadcasted to the public making the political campaigns even more controversial.
4. How much is too much to spend on campaigning for a presidential election?
This chapter focuses on how medial influences us in political debates and elections and tries to sway us one way or the other.
ReplyDelete2. In presidential election narratives, there is always a different story to tell. In the 2008 election, Obama’s campaign was personified as a “romantic tale about hope, change, and overcoming racial barriers and an absent father” (106), while McCain was a “Vietnam veteran and a POW survivor” (106). In the end, the youth picked the narrative son over father in favor of change.
Political narratives are essential to the survival of media industries. They pour billions of dollars into the companies for lobbying efforts and use ad money from politicians to turn power back into their hands.
The section of political bias in the news media states, very frankly, that “all news is biased…Editors choose certain issues and events to cover and ignore others” (112). While some companies, like FOX news have their slogan as “Fair and Unbiased” everyone knows that to be false, and the same goes with media outlets that are more liberal.
3. In the 2012 election, most of my friends voted for Obama because he was the “younger voice” despite not knowing much about his or Romney’s platforms. A lot of people listen to the narrative stories and let them form their opinions instead of creating them themselves. This can work both ways, as I know a few people who voted for Romney because that is whom their parents vote for so they must think the same way, apparently.
4. How can we filter out the crap to get the most truthful news possible?
Thesis: We rely on advertisements to help us make decisions about our candidates but media can both positively and negatively affect a candidate’s reputation and their possibility to winning an election.
ReplyDeleteSupporting Ideas:
1) “…we depend on news media to provide information that helps us make decisions about our political leaders” (103). This quote shows us that it is easy for media to mislead us. Since we greatly depend on media to help us gain knowledge about candidates, we can easily be misled by media. This is because many viewers create a persona for each candidate based off of what is displayed in the advertisements.
2) One power that shapes elections is the idea of “…what kind of citizens we need to be with regard to the battles over power and meaning” (107). Since candidates direct their advertisements based off of what the viewers like, the power becomes in the audiences hands because the candidates want to grab the viewer’s attention. The ads are based off of what the audience wants to hear, not necessarily what is true or not.
3) Another way media has made an impact on people is through music. “The rising popularity of this music…gave many white Americans a glimpse of the segregation and inequality that many black people endured…” (109).The sharing and spreading of music has assisted with the change of history and also peoples perspectives.
Story:
I have seen numerous advertisements where a candidate shoots down another candidate’s reputation. When I see these types of ads or speeches, I sense fear in the candidate who produced it and I become less appealed to that candidate. I would rather see watch an advertisement that shows confidence and displays why that candidate should win, rather than seeing an advertisement about why the other candidate should not win. I have found it tough not to believe everything that advertisements display to you but I believe that you do not win an election because of what someone is bad at, you win an election because of what you are good at.
Question:
Presidential elections have become worse in the sense that candidates use each others weaknesses to gain strength for their own campaign; will this type of advertisement continue to get worse the more media increases?
Chapter 5 talks about how politics, most importantly the presidential elections, is influence by media.
ReplyDeleteDepending on which television channels you watch during the presidential elections can have a more republican or democratic interpretation of the campaigns. “All news is biased” (122). Especially during the debates, the bias of the news channel can impact the voter’s decisions. Another way that news channels affect the viewers is through advertisement. In between the debates the advertisements will show the most pleasing wisdoms of their candidate. This occurs because politics, “since the 1950s… have been imitating market-research and advertising techniques to sell their candidates” (p.117). Strategies for politics waver over the president’s decisions when coming to the debate. The Republicans in 2004 used the strategy of presenting President Bush as a “strong and steady…war president” (p.105).
When it comes to politics I am not extremely interested, and I choose to ignore the entire political process. I do remember, however, one of Bush’s commercials and remembering that I was disgusted that they were putting him on a pedestal for putting us into war.
How do news channels decide which campaign they are going to support?