Public Opinion and Television

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Public Opinion and Television

The paper explores how dangerous such an important mass media as TV can be, if too many power is concentrated in just a few hands, and how our perception of reality can be manipulated by the selection and manipulation of information presented on TV.

Introduction

The following term paper deals with the development of television from its early beginnings in the 1920s up to now. My attention focuses on the powers which influence what is shown on TV and the analysis of methods they use in order to manipulate the public opinion.

Outlining the success story of this important means of mass media at the beginning of the first chapter, I will then explain the effects of globalisation on the TV market. Considering the example of commercialised American television, I will demonstrate in which ways the extreme competition between TV companies and their struggle for the top ratings has influenced the quality of TV programs.

In the second chapter I will deal with "media control" and show how television can be abused by political powers in order to direct the public opinion. After describing the general effects of such influences I will finally return to the example of America and analyse the social and political effects of Rupert Murdoch´s "media monopoly" in the Unites States. Finally I will explain the methods of mass manipulation employed by his Fox News Channel, which are outlined in Robert Greenwald´s film OUTFOXED.

Neil Postman´s book "Amusing ourselves to death", Noam Chomsky´s pamphlet "Media Control" as well as Klaus Plake´s "Handbuch der Fernsehforschung" were important sources of ideas and quotations for my work.

1. The development of television:

During the nineteenth century the industrial revolution, the formation of new nations and the development of infrastructure and traffic had strong effects on society. Travelling became much easier and cheaper while the means of transportation became faster and faster. Even the media had to adapt to the growing spatial mobility of the people and so the challenge was to find a new mean of communication which was able to make information available wherever you are.

First scientific steps towards an electronic media were made at the end of the nineteenth century, when Guglielmo Marconi invented the transmitting antenna, which made primitive forms...

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der Unterhaltungsindustrie. Fischer Verlag/Frankfurt/M.

Internet Sources:

Burnheim, Sally (2003/November 30): "Freedom of Expression: Case law under European

convention on Human Rights". The Daily Star. Law & Rights section. [Online].

[2005, Jan. 24]

http://www.thedailystar.net/law/200311/05/

Perger, Roman (2000/August 25): "Auf in den Bürgerkrieg". Die Zeit. Politics section.

[Online]. [2005, Jan. 25]

http//www.zeus.zeit.de/text/archiv/2000/38/200038_dreiweise.xml

Sorkin, Andrew and Fabrikant, Geraldine (2005/January 10): "Murdoch to Buy Rest of Fox

for $7 Billion" .New York Times. Bussiness section. [Online]. [2005, Jan. 18] http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA081FFF345D0C738DDDA80894DD404482&incamp=archive:search

Worm, Alfred (2001/March 31): "Dritte Phase". Message Magazine. Austria Archive.

[Online]. [2005, Jan. 25]

http://www.message-online.de/arch3_01/31_worm.html

Film:

Greenwald, Robert (2004): Outfoxed. California Productions, Inc./USA

Other sources:

Skull, Steven (2003) (2003): Misperceptions, the Media and the Iraq War: An Independent

Survey on Media Impartiality. PIPA/Knowledge Networks/Maryland

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