It had been said in our Bennett book that the mass media acts as a 4th branch of government to check and balance our government officials. The question stands, who is responsible for checking and balancing the Mass Media? We are! Democracy promotes one being responsible to and for another. This enables our society to keep an essentially level head when making decisions for the good of the public. No censuring is necessary. Just call BS when you see and hear it. I do not think it is healthy for the country that the media string the public along in an endless state of panic, especially when there is nothing to panic about that we can discussion civilly.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Selling Panic to the Masses
Whether it is H1N1, Health care, or terrorism the media seems to "sell panic" to its viewers. To use a medium to play off of the fears others in order to further ones agenda is not a business practice that should be advocated. I turned on the television this morning and the first thing I heard is Glen Beck stating that, "There is a revolution in America..." During our first class debate I brought up a question/comment towards the end of the discussion. I said that even though as a citizen I have a responsibility to research the information that I am given, the mediums that deliver that "news" need to be held responsible also to report with integrity and impartiality. Using their forums to interject their opinions or project their fears onto the public causes mass hysteria. Whether or not those fears may be legitimate will not matter. What will matter is the possibility that the "fear" could happen. These practices are no different than propaganda in Communist/Totalitarian governments or insurgent training camps. Feeding a groups physiological fears will always result in a unanimous uproar for change.
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I agree with you entirely on this subject. As a media major I have study the way in which media evoke fear into their respective audiences by means of photographs, strong words, and even music at times. Even if the "news" being reported on is something to potentially panic a little over there is still not a need for the push in using panic as a tool. For the media to be the fourth branch of the government then we must somehow admit that it is in turn connected to the government and that instead of being a form of checks and balances what if the media simply helps the agenda of its respective government biases. Of course there is no human in this world that can be objective all the time, but who are our information characters in real life? What royalties do they serve? I had once heard something about Anderson Cooper that made me change my mind entirely about being a journalist in today's society. Anderson is, in my mind, a respectable journalist once you look past the fact that he works for CNN and has to serve the agenda of that particular network. He once had done some investigative work across seas and written an article in which did not fit the formatting of CNN. He was denied the right to broadcast his findings on 360, and ended up negotiating to have it posted on his website. I never got around to further researching the matter, but if as a journalist you are putting your life on the line and sacrificing whatever to bring the truth out why are you denied the right to publicize this information? You are right the media is a business, and in this case they were never going to allow their viewers to have the right to hear something from the "other guy".
ReplyDeleteFoxnews in general is a testament to the 1st Amendment. They have the right to make things up and serve their audience. I do agree with you. No one checks the Mass Media because that would be viewed by many as Government filtering out what they want people to hear or not. Foxnews is a reason most developing countries would never allow any kind of freedom of press or speech...I often talk to folks around the world, they'll wonder how people watch that station, even more surprising is that the Republican party get their talking points from that station....We can't blame them though, they're banking in millions off race baiting rhetoric's, Liberal bashing day and night and their non-stop illusion about how America is been destroyed by Obama. Most of the Health care opposition is not even based on protest against health-care, it's mostly White folks that think their America is been destroyed, and they all get their news from.....Foxnews.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you competely. The media may suck, but any attempt by the government to censor it would be extraordinarily inadvisable. Unfortunately, most people, in spite of their protests, actually like the media as it is. They say they don't, but it's the same as Congress' low approval rating. "It's not MY news source that's bad, it's all the others that are the problem!"
ReplyDeleteI thought you made some very valid points! I also believe the media causing fear in the minds of citizens creates mass hysteria. A perfect example is the economic crisis we are in now. I think if the media did not play it up so much it might not be as bad as it is. People hear about job loss and market failure and they don't want to spend money. The media should be checked on by citizens and held accountable for their actions. And just as you said, no need to censor, just call them on their BS! Great post!
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