The Manipulation of the Media

1069 Words3 Pages

Watching the average American is a lot like watching Homer Simpson. There is an episode of the television show the Simpsons where someone, probably Bart places a Twinkie in the backyard. The Twinkie is rigged to electrocute anyone who touches it. Homer loves Twinkies and he just can’t resist them. So for the next several hours we hear a shocking noise followed by Homer’s trademark D'oh. Poor Homer is just not smart enough to keep from getting shocked over and over again. Perhaps the reason that Homer is one of America’s favorite stars aside from his outstanding acting ability is that we can relate to his predicament. The press or a least the television news is a lot like the electric Twinkie, we want it, yet it continues to bite us. We are not smart enough to see it for what is really is. The media is a business and today with cable news blasting into our lives every minute of the day in more every nation it is a mega business. We erroneously see them as a public service or as providers as the whole truth, whereas it’s really designed to keep us tuned in long enough to run several commercials. The sole function of the news is to sell products. Keeping this in mind the news services at least the cable services have become designer agencies catering to the political predisposition, susceptibility, and propensities of this chosen viewers our perhaps a better term is cliental. We need to understand that the press is not interested in the truth; the press is interested in selling advertisements. If you really want to understand a news channels standpoint pay attention to the advertisements. Fox advertises beer, frozen vegetables, Volkswagen Jettas and easy credit companies while CNN peddles trips to the Caribbean, expensive perf... ... middle of paper ... ...ar as constitutionality in relation the first amendment, these shows must be allowed to continue. They are to be protected at all cost. A free nation should never restrict such political discourse. The issue is that we need to understand the press. We must understand its motivation. We must understand who is talking and why they are saying what they are saying, be it their deepest beliefs or for the enhancement of their deepest pockets. Blaming the media of eroding of participation is problematic. True many people likely opt out of participating due to the rhetoric and banter, but in all reality many people are motivated to vote because of these programs. In reality it is likely a wash. We as viewer just can’t seem to get enough, we hate it, and it hurts us yet we still keep coming back. In the mean time the advertisers get richer. Hay look a Twinkie D’oh.

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