The authors discuss branding and why it is important for news netrworks and political outrage personalities. Branding is important because it creates a trust based relationship with the « average » viewer. This idea of the « average viewer » is critical because it represents the majority of white male correspondants who dominate the industry. There is an underlying belief that these white males represent the majority and speak on issues that matter the most to those chosen group of people. These men, speak on issues that most people of this group are afraid to talk about in public, due to the fear of being labeled as ultra-conservative, racist, sexist,etc.
Some news is always being told, but the people are never given both sides of the story. We read in the book that controversy is always avoided by the television news. In an effort not to provoke trouble, or thinking, the information that is given only ever has one side. Also, they quickly move from one subject to another, not giving anyone time to think about what they are being fed from the t.v."Speed up the film, Montag, quick ... Uh! Bang!
Society expect to be constantly entertained; they have become so concerned with things such as who the latest star is dating, scandals, or dumb people doing rather idiotic things. Much of society have been consumed in their personal instant gratification and what makes them “happy”. When on an off chance that news does show things that are serious and impactful(not necessarily positive things that is happening in the world) people have become so numb that the best they could do is feel sympathetic and at worst continue on with their day. The other part of the problem is that those behind what is being published and shown on the news media have been absorbed in their avarice nature, whatever allows them to make as much profit they do. “Writing thousands of hours of coverage from what could have been summarized in a couple of minutes every few weeks, a new rhetorical strategy was developed, or-let’s be generous-evolved”(6), Saunders describes the new formula formed by mass news firms that would yield the most profit.
Mother Jones is a reader-supported nonprofit investigative news organization, reporting on everything from politics and climate change to education and food. Violent Media is a recurring topic nowadays in the United States, as well as around the World, and the influence it may had on cruel events; specifically the culprits of these atrocities. Gerard Jones unsuccessfully delivers the message of “Violent Media is Good for Kids” with the usage of Pathos and Kairos, lack of Ethos, and inadequacy of the opposing views; promoting a biased article The article “Violent Media is Good for Kids” written by Gerard Jones, from my point of view it seems to be a written opinion rather than an informational paper.
There has been a shift, it would seem, in journalist integrity and reporting style of political news media over the past several decades. The shift began in the 1970’s when the now prolific Rush Limbaugh was just starting his career in the broadcast industry, but the rise of conservative media is largely attributed to “sweeping deregulation of the media (particularly the removal of the Fairness Doctrine and the easing of ownership restrictions)” (Sobieraj 410). This paper will attempt to trace and analyse the spread of influence and the nature of conservative rhetoric of not only Rush Limbaugh, but right-wing media in general. When analysing right-wing media it is important to consider its origin.
Rushdie’s essay, “Reality TV: A Dearth of Talent and the Death of Mortality”, focuses on the negative effects of media on today’s society. He believes the use of reality television is skewing the minds of everyday Americans by the way “regular” people are portrayed on television. Many readers are persuaded to believe in Rushdie’s cause, not because he is right or his topic is relevant in today’s world, but because of the rhetorical devices he uses to direct his audience in a similar belief. The rhetorical devices Rushdie uses are mainly tone of voice, sarcasm, and irony. Rushdie uses tone of voice which he uses to set the pace for his readers.
The Gambler by Paolo Bacigalupi, encompasses a broad range of important themes and issues portrayed in media today. Particularly it reminded me heavily of the constant censorship battle still ongoing in China. As I personally have many friends that travel to and from China I’m able to hear their personal accounts of how different the media is presented to them there. Social media websites such as Facebook and Youtube are entirely blocked while others rumour that Google search results are entirely changed to fit communist propaganda.
We spend hours absorbing the information we are told but nobody takes a second look. The government could print anything they wanted in a textbook and eventually it would become truth because hardly anyone questions the all-powerful textbook. In George Orwell’s 1984, media is manipulated on a daily basis. The Party slogan for this is “‘Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past’” (Orwell 248).
Anderson Cooper is arguably the best news journalist of his time (present day), because of the way he understands his audience and the fact how he can confidently question Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump without being bias. Here’s the intrepid CNN reporter getting all soft-feature personal,” said The Los Angeles Times about Anderson Cooper. Russell Baker is arguably one of the funniest and greatest news reporters, because he can write with pride and confidence and have fun with it as well. Anderson Cooper was one of the first to be openly gay in the journalist world and he has a unique style of reporting without bias and he likes to be in the action of crime scenes and stories. Russell Baker is really popular, because he is good on reporting
According to the Critical/Cultural Theory, the media industry almost always exploits the masses. This industry produces formulized media content that appeals to mass audiences with the intent of displaying their own values and social/political status quo. While some may argue that the media is simply “displaying” content, it still undoubtedly has an effect on our lives whether it be directly or subconsciously. Often times, this is shown in a form of presenting stereotypes in genders, politics, races, age, sexual orientation, etc. In terms of how dominant ideology comes into play with the Critical/Cultural Theory, many of these stereotypes are denoted as a display of dominant ideology.
“Today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, controlled by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, and by political groups”, quoted American writer Philip Kindred Dick. I bet his name got your attention! Anyways, let’s move on. Almost 90% of all international mainstream media is controlled by a total of 6 corporations. To put that into perspective, 1500 newspapers, 9000 radio stations and 1500 TV stations across the globe are owned by these 6 corporations!
The media will pick and choose which topics to discuss according to the viewer’s ratings. The news media represent the news in a manner that will leave people coming back for more. They choose carefully what they want to report and by doing so they do not spread lies within the articles but what they choose not to tell the audience. The media shares what the people
These alterations are negatively impacting the younger audience making them believe in what is presented rather than what is real. Hence to live in a better community, it is not only the duty of journalists, advertising agencies and directors but also us to showcase the truth and stay mindful about
A Reflection on Critical Theories in Communication and Media: Critical Discourse of Empowerment (FMA 3b) Critical theory is useful in the study of communication and media with respect to the discourse of empowerment and the related concept of emancipation and political correctness and whose roots can be traced to Marxism as adapted by the Frankfurt school. Specifically, critical theory offers frameworks for analyzing the complexities and contradictions of marginalization and resistance in societies. According to Littlejohn and Foss (2009, p. 237), critical theory is not a theory proper but a set of complementary theoretical frames that examine structures of domination in society in order to open possibilities for the emancipation of people, meanings, and values. Further, that critical theory is primarily oriented towards people and critical theorists view social life and lived experience as the subject of inquiry for analysis and interpretation with the hope that they might find ways to shape societies to be more open and equitable for marginalized groups. At first, as a person trained in the scientific method, I would disagree that there exists “critical theories” that can assist us understand and explain communication and media phenomena but after the readings I realized that indeed there is a set of theories under the critical theory framework that are not only explanatory, as traditional theories are, but also emancipatory in nature.
“Poverty, a growing issue both in the United States and abroad, constitutes less than 0.02 percent of lead media coverage. One of the reasons this happens is that journalists like happy endings. Systematic poverty in the world does not have a tidy resolution. Journalists also want to write about actions and change, and changes in the state of global poverty are not happening rapidly enough. Another issue is that of censorship.
