Do you watch the news regularly? A simple question that if asked just twenty years ago would result in an overall consensus of “Yes I watch the news regularly”. Interestingly enough fewer people are tuning into newscasts, if at all. Why is this? The primary reason people list for not wanting to watch the news is that it is depressing or their undying devotion to one media outlet bars them from even attempting to tune into another news station (but we won’t delve any deeper into that subject at this time). The media has certainly taken a darker turn as of late, but the same can be said for people, and their interests. Facets of media have only one goal and that is to reach their target market, plain and simple, they culminate this by broadcasting the high profile and violent cases more often than not. The masses have caused this shift in broadcasting coverage, all the way from the executives in their sky-rise offices, to the everyday persons’ perched in front of the television set.
People are violent, simply because we love extraneous violence. Think about how often we endanger ourselves looking at a car crash while driving, the allure of the crash is so enticing that we would even go as far as to jeopardize our wellbeing to catch a glimpse. When not pertaining to our individual safety we become more selfish. Few Americans are afraid of the unmanned drone attacks that are deleterious to the innocent children in war torn countries, however when an act of violence happens in a locale that is unexpected to ourselves it becomes a morbid reality. We see this in the very recent death of Paul Walker, minutes after the tragic news surfaced people were posting sarcastic comments about his need for speed and the irony present with him peris...
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...range anywhere from the stealing of an urn of a stillborn, to 10 Haitians’ dying after their boat had flipped. Plastered on the front page are the high profile news stories we so crave and yet we are upset over the lack of lighthearted news stories. To find a heartwarming story I had to scroll to the bottom of the webpage, where the link read “Marine saves stadium jumper”. Even the lighthearted stories carry a depressing undertone and unfortunately this trend will most likely continue to spiral upwards.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable” (John F. Kennedy) while Kennedy aimed this quote at a different issue it still applies to the media today. Until we the people are outspoken in our insatiable thirst for news stories that are not always negative, but that are educational and stimulating, nothing will change.
Wang’s studies have shown that news industries are now tabloidizing news because it elicits the attention of their viewers. Now the only thing considered as “entertainment” in the news is “crimes, accidents, and disasters”. Wangs writes “News that bleeds seem to still lead the primary broadcasts” (Wang 722). People nowaday only tune in when a disaster has occurred and anything other that is not “interesting”. Unfortunately, people would rather watch Isis in action then heard about Obama releasing innocent victims from prison. The reporter in “Gray Noise” proves Wang’s words true when he records on his lens about a mother who had just lost her
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
Media platforms like television and radio primarily spread propaganda created by the government. Citizens spend a lot of time watching television or listening to the radio and it’s a big part of their life. Almost everyone in the city owns a television or radio and believes things they see and hear from them. Montag escapes the police, but the T.V. chase is still playing out because they don’t want people to know that they let a fugitive get away. They found an innocent man on the street, labeled him as Montag, then killed him on the broadcast. “‘They’re faking. You threw them off at the river. They can’t admit it. They know they can hold their audience only so long. The show’s got to have a snap ending, quick!’... ‘The innocent man stood bewildered’… ‘The victim was seized by Hound and camera in a great spidering, clenching grip’” -Granger (Bradsbury 142). Media propaganda is so powerful today because everyone is susceptible to it. The press (newspapers, magazines, and T.V.) uses their tactics to shape people’s opinions. According to Johnnie Manzaria, the press is important because the most current news and info is spread through them everyday. People can believe anything the media says, because they have a popular opinion or reputation. Even if they spread propaganda, some people will inevitably believe it because “the news said so”, and is a very influential resource ("Media's Use of Propaganda to Persuade
Mass media controls the public like puppets. It affects everything a person does with their lives. Just like in Fahrenheit 451 we live in a society of fantasizers. We believe what the media tells us and to not question it but just go along with it. Media is everywhere whether we are aware of it or not.
Gina Marchetti, in her essay "Action-Adventure as Ideology," argues that action- adventure films implicitly convey complex cultural messages regarding American values and the "white American status quo." She continues to say that all action-adventure movies have the same basic structure, including plot, theme, characterization, and iconography. As ideology, this film genre tacitly expresses social norms, values, and morals of its time. Marchetti's essay, written in 1989, applies to films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rambo: First Blood II. However, action-adventure films today seem to be straying farther away from her generalizations about structure, reflecting new and different cultural norms in America. This changing ideology is depicted best in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), which defies nearly every concept Marchetti proposes about action-adventure films; and it sets the stage for a whole new viewpoint of action in the '90's.
Violence in all of its manifestations is based on an exercise of power. It represents a means to gain power, to maintain power, or as a response to a threat to one's power. As long as a society maintains the legitimacy of social hierarchies, of the right of some people to have power over others, there will be violence. One can either seek to diffuse the concentration of power or to control violence. By its very character, the attempt to control violence is self-defeating. The control will itself become violent.
In Benjamin Radford’s essay “How Television Distorts Reality” the author contends that television newscasts distort reality by focusing on sensational events. Radford claims that news broadcasts devote inordinate amounts of air time to crime coverage, and avoid more critical subjects such as race relations and geopolitics. The mainstream media benefits from these divisive tactics due to the rationale that sensational headlines are much more attention-grabbing, and they believe that they are being “democratic” by offering the masses prepackaged information that can be easily consumed. In reality, the media is forcefully increasing the viewer’s feeling of vulnerability, leading them to
It is of my judgment that broadcasting stations are fixated on the words, "breaking news." It seems today that any circumstance holds as current breaking news as highlighted by Psychology Today. "News programming uses a hierarchy if it bleeds, it leads. Fear-based news programming has two aims. The first is to grab the viewer's attention. In the news media, this is called the teaser. The second aim is to persuade the viewer that the solution for reducing the identified worry will be in the news story" (If It Bleeds, It Leads: Understanding Fear-Based Media, par. 1, 2011). Our emotions guide us through our anxieties and most of the time, things seem worse than they actually are. All the discussion regarding Mexicans are taking our jobs (PBS NewsHour, 20:48-20:54, 2015), and North Korea missiles heading for the Pacific border of America etc., are all heightened by the kind of media we consume. The intention of news is to inform us of what's occurring around us and possibly suggest solutions to how to cope or resolve them. However, the real question that should be asked of ourselves is, is it sensationalized or real news and does it seek to benefit or instill fear in its audience? Editor of the Atlantic, Molly Ball uses news outlet, The Guardian, in agreement and opens up about how the media is like a cloak of protection for Americans. When the anxiety is high, people crave protection (Ball, par. 9, 2016), therefore concise reasoning is almost
Bennett (2011) felt that one of the biggest problems with bias in the American media was its “overwhelming tendency to downplay the big social, economic, or political picture in favor of the human trials, tragedies, and triumphs (177).” Shaiko (2008) alluded to the fact that the American news media is “accountable to the corporate conglomerates” and not “to the readers, listeners, and viewers (205).” Probably the most telling quotation of all can be found in Chapter 10 of The News Media: Communicating Pol...
While violence is not new to the human race, it is an accumulative epidemic that is taking over today’s society. With firearms, ammunition and explosives becoming more accessible, this is resulting into more violent behavior and less serious consequences. Violence in the media plays an imperative role in the etiology of violent and hostile behavior in the world today. While it is difficult to determine which age group have experienced more televised violence, studies have shown that the consequences of aggressive and violent behavior have brought a great deal of human agonizing, suffering, pain and financial destitution to our society, as well as an atmosphere of apprehension, distress and doubt. Research indicates that violence in the media has not just increased in quantity; it has also become more explicit, sexual and sadistic. Most acts of violence in media and on television are laughed off and there are no consequences for these actions.
It has been happened frequently in today’s society that parents and teachers try to keep children away from violent media. Children are taught that violent is not right and dangerous. In the article, “Violent Media Is Good for Kids”, Gerard Jones asserts that allowing children to violent media instead of banned it can bring great benefit to children during their growing stage. By watching violent media, children learn to overcome fear, control the rage and prove the real self from the superheroes in the story. Jones believes that violent entertainment can assistance children to fulfill emotional and development need. In my opinion, Jones develops a persuasive argument because of his strong emotions, considerable evidences and reasonable assumptions.
We rely on the media for a lot of news and current events. Some news channels and reporter are consistently more reliable than others, and it is hard to determine which one is more credible than the other. All the news sources are so competitive they want to publish the story as soon as they get the information even if it is not accurate or complete. Eighty-two percent of Americans believe that the crime reported based on what is viewed on the news and the other seventeen percent is their lifestyle (Bohm, & Haley, 2012). These are the unbalanced reports from the media that we have to choose from when we want to know about the local and worldwide news. Sometimes the story is so repetitious that we get tired of seeing and hearing the same thing
To begin, many people in todays society are violent. If you take a step back and analyze our civilization, you will notice the violence humans have towards other humans; humans that are just like themselves. But why this violence is arising? Throughout our childhood we tend to get the indication violence is the easiest way to solve our problems with other people. We think that if we just "beat someone up" we will be superior over that individual. Or if we punch and kick them, they will no longer bother you. That is not the way it is, in reality, these actions just provoke more anger and lead to additional violence and
Throughout the previous years, individuals view media for further entertainment rather then the actual message portrayed. We simply observe or recite if the news media is outrageous or affects to the lives of the icons presently in the interest. Currently, the image of privacy connected with individuals providing newscasts has entirely disappeared. In the news media the images have become more important than the message itself due to mass media. Audience and visual images have become more common because the brain reads the images rather then the words. We take caution about what we see; then what is essentially being shown throughout media. The newscast today is being more of entertainment purposes then the actual message shown. Nowadays what we see on display changes anything we recognize.
The purpose of journalism is to report a story accurately; simply to tell it like it is. Over the past two decades, with increased tension over political and religious ideologies, the media’s original purpose is being lost. Yes, being well-informed remains an asset in the world today. Our now, globally-focused world will always value knowledge and awareness. With the television, internet, newspaper- all mediums of entertainment- available at the snap of a finger, we have non-stop access to news. One problem with this is the blatant bias of news networks. Every news source has a bias. Viewers typically recognize the platform of the major sources, therefore deterring them from certain networks. When reporters feed viewers the same opinion through different stories, the viewer isn’t getting a balanced intake in terms of overall understanding. In today’s society, viewers are truly at the mercy of what those in authority provide. Think of George Orwell’s 1984 where the all-powerful “Big Brother,” through “The Party” oversees every little piece of information that passes through the telescreen (along with everything that passes by the telescreen on the other end.) The citizens of Oceania are essentially clueless to the truth because they have no access to it. The television: typically a source of entertainment, transformed itself into an instrument for controlling. Yes, the modern technology is