Neil Postman and The News

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Recommended: Media and political propaganda

The news is a great source to gain information about things going on around the world. In Amusing Ourselves To Death, author Neil Postman says that the news is not used to inform, but is used as a source of entertainment. Postman wrote that the news became entertain through the music, the length of the stories and the commercials shown during the news. Postman was not entirely correct about the news. News channels use music, the length of stories, and commercials for a purpose that is not entertainment.
Every news channel starts out with some type of up tempo music that makes those watching feel intrigued, happy, or safe. Music played at the beginning of newscasts are used to intrigue those watching. It makes people want to watch what is on and listen to the stories that are being told throughout the newscast. The that is played after each story is used as a tool to make news watchers feel happy. Stories that are given in the news are mostly about criminals, tragedies, or bad things that politicians did. Music is played to help lift up the news watcher and help assure that everythin...

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