Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The role of the media in politics
The role of the media in politics
The role of the media in politics
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The role of the media in politics
Darla Hagerman
May 13, 2017
Political Science
Is Fake News a Virus or Symptom? What made the election of our 45th President stand out among previous campaign? The first time in history ,the media was under attack and being blamed for spreading what President Trump , describes as " Fake New". In an attempt to understand the polarization of our nation, I began to seek answers on whether the media was part of the problem . What was the reasoning that allowed "fake news" to take center stage. The rumors of misconduct where being spreading like wild fire and with the help of social media and the internet it blazed without mercy. So, Is fake news a new virus or has simply the result of long tradition of negative campaigning
…show more content…
This last election really put fake news in the limelight because of President Donald Trump's ranks about the media being corrupt and fabricating stories for profit. Sometimes I feel we forget that politicians are just as flawed as the rest of us and are not above telling half-truths to get desired results. Is it that by some slim chance that fake news took center stage In the 2016 presidential election. I think not! The public at large was reading stories about Hilary Clinton being indicated or questioning President Obama place of birth that many were distracted and unaware of the real stories that were unfolding. We are so bogged down by half-truths that is hard to determine facts from fiction. In an article that appeared in the New Times titled ,Truth and Lies in the Age of Trump, it argues that President Trump has seized an opportunity created by the breakdown of shared public reality to create a blind trust. It so hard to believe anything that you read or hear this days. Everyone is vying to have their perspective of reality deemed the truth. Americans are witnessing the effects of sensationalism as it waters down the truth . The more we fall for false report the less likely we to be able to spot the truth. The media and our President have waged war on each other and the public seems to be caught in the
The media takes a biased approach on the news that they cover, giving their audience an incomplete view of what had actually happened in a story. Most people believe that they are not “being propagandized or being in some way manipulated” into thinking a certain way or hearing certain “truths” told by their favorite media outlets (Greenwald 827). In reality, everyone is susceptible to suggestion as emphasized in the article “Limiting Democracy: The American Media’s World View, and Ours.” The
As people look back at history they will see that little posts on Facebook and Twitter can be all lies. It’s not hard to make a post, all you have to do is create something that will draw people's attention. Even if you have to smudge the truth a little. When people find something on the internet they automatically think that it’s true, but in reality news stations sometimes have to “spice” up stories to make people watch their station. This is how the truth is sometimes expendable because the little change of words in a quote could change how people view the story. This is why people need to check who they are watching and shouldn’t take every word said is true unless heard by multiple reliable sources. As we as human beings move on, people need to remember that everything on the internet, new, and social media is true. If you want to know if the piece of information is true look it up, if it is there should be a couple reliable sources that have almost identical information. If you can’t find the same information then it is obviously fake. To help create a better democracy always remember to double check your sources and always check the world around you, because you never know what is true or
A good part of Outfoxed focuses on the company's blurring of news and commentary, how anchormen and reporters are encouraged to repeatedly use catch-phrases like "some people say..." as a means of editorializing within a supposedly objective news story; how graphics, speculation and false information are repeated over-and-over throughout the broadcast day until it appears to become fact, and in doing so spreads like a virus and copied on other networks. A PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll points to glaring, fundamental misconceptions about the news perpetuated upon Fox viewers, versus information received from widely respected news-gathering organizations like NPR and PBS. Asked, for instance, "Has the U.S. found links between Iraq & al-Qaeda?" only 16% of PBS and NPR viewers answered "yes," but a frightening 67% of Fox viewers believed there had.
...re are many people that believe everything they have to say. For example take Bill Clinton, our own President; he stood up and lied straight to all of us saying he never committed adultery. And then what about Watergate? And we elect these people into office to govern us. I cannot believe the media, they only tell what they get from the government, a system that lies and cheats its way through.
Large American media conglomerates have been growing increasingly polarized on the political spectrum, each network presenting information and reporting on stories using angles that benefit the political party that they support (Prior). Most notably, Fox News is infamous for being a partisan news channel that strongly supports the conservative Republican Party, despite the fact that its motto is “fair and balanced” (“Fox News.”). According to a New York Times editorial, “[Fox News’] claim to be fair and balanced is no more than a knowing wink to its audience, and has no higher master than the dollar” (Crossman). For example, in 2012, during the presidential election, Fox News anchor Sean Hannity blatantly lied to his audience, claiming that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had stated that if President Barack Obama won a second term, “[t]axes [would] go up 30 percent” (Uwimana). In reality, the CBO report had merely been talking about fiscal bills that were in effect at the time, and had not mentioned anything about President Obama (Uwimana). However, Hannity still falsified information in order to support his own conservative agenda. Such political polarization in the media leads to a public that is increasingly misinformed. Further exacerbating the problem, Fox News often stages debates over facts rather than over opposing viewpoints (Scherer). There have been numerous occasions in which Hannity and other anchors have called into question the legitimacy of the scientific consensus on global warming (Rudman). By calling the legitimacy and reality of such facts into question, Fox News casts doubt on scientifically established principles such as climate change, and on other important facts that could potentially help clarify the true nature of
According to James Madison, “nothing could be more irrational than to give the people power and to withhold from them information, without which power is abused,” suggesting that the people have the right to learn popular information and learn both sides of an issue (Paul and Elder 2). However, in modern society, the media often do not present both sides of an issue and are inclined to often mask information for their personal benefits. Therefore, the people often learn and understand only one aspect of an issue and inevitably lean towards the bias present in that news account. Indubitably, the coverage in the mainstream news media influences the majority through its bias and propaganda, especially its partisan audience, which only appreciates one side of the news story. Thus, even though news networks may claim that their news programs and publications are completely factual and credible, their coverage of news events is politically, commercially, and racially biased.
News is all around us and is readily available to everyone. There are many flaws in the system that hurts the authenticity of the news when you see it. The media is indirectly part of the political system. Most news is either considered liberal or conservative by many.
In 2011, I watched a new television series. The new series aired on Showtime after a show called Dexter. The new series is known as Shameless. Shameless is based on the long running series, Shameless U.K. Shameless is the American take of the U.K. version. There is a lot cruder language, and nudity in the American version. The series focuses on the Gallagher family, and they live in Chicago, Illinois. The show refers to the Gallagher family living on the Southside, which is the “ghetto” of Illinois. Both Shameless U.S. and Shameless U.K. have similar character names and plots. In this paper, I will focus only on Shameless U.S.
People today are willing to do anything to avoid facing the truth, and are willing to go to extreme lengths to silence those who encourage them to do just that. A great example in today’s society would be Donald Trump. He faces an astronomical amount ridicule each day because he tells people the truth about the actions of the government and refuses to compromise his beliefs to please others. It is hard for people to accept and understand something that challenges their beliefs. In fact, a multitude of people today would rather be told a reassuring lie than an inconvenient truth. This makes it easy for the government to keep feeding the people lies with very little opposition. Until people begin to analyze these lies in an attempt to discern the truth, they will remain as gullible and naïve as the prisoners chained in the cave and will forever remain at the mercy of their
The year is 2006,watching TV, you flip through the various news stations to learn about the recent news in Iraq, the majority of the news simply says that ‘x’ amount of soldiers or marines were killed in such and such attack. You don’t like what you are hearing so you go online to read an independent embedded (embedded refers to news reporters who are attached to military units) reporters story. Online you read that two new schools were built, and the Iraqis, supported by US forces, led an attack to capture an insurgent leader. The big media corporations such as FOX, NBC, CNN, and many others distort the facts that are on the ground. Small, mostly independent, reporters generally try to get a first-hand account of the situation on the ground.
Newspapers and nightly news shows have become a business. They no longer go by the public services values they once stood by (Sensationalism, 2005). Instead of being the fourth branch of government, they are just like any other money making business. It is no longer a race to put out the truth; it is more a race for dollars and control. Sensationalism is purely fueled by money and popularity. If a news outlet garners a large amount of popularity, they can swing votes, and influence voters. Sensationalism has already affected many political situations. Sensationalism has proven to spread like a virus. If sensationalism is not controlled, there is no way the news outlets can be the advocate for the people.
From the beginning days of the printing press to the always evolving internet of present day, the media has greatly evolved and changed over the years. No one can possibly overstate the influential power of the new media of television on the rest of the industry. Television continues to influence the media, which recently an era of comedic television shows that specialize in providing “fake news” has captivated. The groundbreaking The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and its spin-off The Colbert Report have successfully attracted the youth demographic and have become the new era’s leading political news source. By parodying news companies and satirizing the government, “fake news” has affected the media, the government, and its audience in such a way that Bill Moyers has claimed “you simply can’t understand American politics in the new millennium without The Daily Show,” that started it all (PBS).
Are we receiving information accurately, with details being simple to understand? After further research on media framing, I’ve come to realize that it is not rare to be someone who is skeptical of the news. In decades before now, the media did a better job serving the public interests inside their news stories (Callaghan, 2001, p.186). But now, journalists may mix up facts intentionally and build a different story (Callaghan, 2001, p. 184). How can one feel safe after knowing the media changes stories to keep us interested?
Fake News is constantly being written, permeating through television broadcasts, internet sites, and magazine articles. It seems that the amount of false news in the world is starting to overtake the amount of genuine information. This is indeed a problem, but not as much as people make it out to be. This is for a few reasons. Fake news is much like bacteria, there are both beneficial and harmful types of fake news. Beneficial fake news is usually
...stence depends upon continued success in furnishing readers and listeners with a wide range of facts,” said reporter Julian Adams. By the public depending on media for information, they are making the media money. Buying newspapers and magazines are compensating those companies. Listening to your local radio station and watching your local news channel is compensating those companies. “Staging (fabrication) or deliberate distortion of news is against public interest,” said writer William B. Ray. Society believes in media and the media believes in the society. So let the society know the real data and what’s important. Knowing what’s important captures the public’s interest rather than knowing what’s fake. Falsifying News is legal meaning the media is allowed to lie to the public. Everyone has their own views on this topic but either way lying to the society is wrong.