This week I would like you to take a look at a few examples of how the media has covered different events. Historically the media has played a crucial role in political successes such as the civil rights movement. The media has the power to influence the political agenda and frame issues and individuals in influential ways. Often the media is referred to as the "4th branch of government," in charge of oversight and responsible to hold political leaders accountable. However others see the media as perpetuating bias and power structures by highlighting shocking and violent news, often disproportionally focusing on racial and ethnic minorities, as well as supporting a clearly partisan bias. Others see racial and ethnic minorities simply lacking in representation on TV.
Look at the following clips and then comment generally on how media coverage affects racial or ethnic groups in America. What is the role of media in the process today? Has it changed from prior media coverage racially charged issues? What types of bias do you notice? Is it fair coverage? What role should the media take?
Feel free to add other clips that you find interesting and relevant.
Video 1: ABC coverage of the Rodney King verdict in 1991
Video 2: Malcolm X appears on a television show in Chicago called "City Desk" on March 17, 1963.
Video 3: Coverage of 2008 Election on CNN
Video 4: Reaction to the George Zimmerman (Trayvon Martin) Case and verdict
The role of media is to provide us with information on events that are happening in the world. The problem with that is that the medias diction affects peoples views of the things that they are covering. By choosing to use certain words, the media can put images in our mind and this can affect how we view the story. The way the reporters say things also can affect our views on the issues being covered. If the reporter is noticeably irritated then we may (or may not think) "this is something I should be mad about". The music that accompanies certain scenes can also affect our emotions and prime us to think a certain way about an issue, video, or image.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the media should be reporting with minimal opinions. It should just give us the facts and carefully watch its diction so it does not make us think a certain way about the issues being reported. I believe it is very hard to keep a neutral attitude when reporting especially when they report hot button issues.Though difficult, this is what the media should strive to be. Media should strive to be less of a middle man that gives an opinion with its information and more of a pure, direct line to information that we can form our own feelings about. Since many people get their information directly from the media, if they decide to only cover one point of view then the audience will only be exposed to that particular, often biased, view.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout history, the United States media has always been biased. You always hear about news stations "leaning left" or "leaning right" during newscasts, especially in political campaigns. It always seems like there is a driving force behind their segments, such as influence from a political party or affluent individuals funding news stations. News stations have a huge influence on public thought in the United States because they control the agenda being discussed. If they report a racial issue in favor of whites, then America will believe minorities are the inferior race in that situation. A prime example is the Trayvon Martin case. News stations were either in favor of Zimmerman or Martin. Fox news portrayed Zimmerman as innocent in the case. They neglected to show any evidence of him appearing guilty. In my opinion, it's not democratic to show partial information. I shouldn't have to visit multiple news sites to get different depictions of the event. We should be able to rely on the news to feed us unbiased information in order to get the full story.
ReplyDeleteMedia today has a very skewed way of releasing information, sometimes it turns into misinformation and this misinformation is usually displayed on news networks with political alliances. When you broadcast your news it is your duity to give all the facts and evidence to support your statements because if you don't then you misinform your audience which isn't democratically correct. We see biases happen in the news media all the time and it includes racially charged issues. For instance, it's no secret that Fox News is a conservative network, and on more that one occasion has not disclosed all the information when it comes to a story. Like with the Ground Zero Mosque story, they led their viewers into believing that the mosque was going to be built right on the sight of the 9/11 attacks which ushered in unneeded hatred for Muslims, yet in actuality the mosque was built streets away from the site. Disclosing partial information is never fair coverage because it doesn't let the viewers and listeners develop their own opinions on the matter, it's almost like indoctrinating an audience, just telling them what you think they should know. A responsible media outlet would tell the whole factual story, not "If" stories, not partial stories, full stories with all views accounted for.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of control the media has over the opinions of the people of the United States is, quite frankly, ridiculous, at least from my perspective. I work in the entertainment industry, and it's amazing how much time writers and directors take to create a specific mood and enforce their own subliminal messaging into the heads of the audiences of films and commercials. I think the same can be said for News studios. Each broadcast is brimming with effects and music that are incorporated for the sole purpose of making their viewers agree with their opinions and tune back in the next day. Broadcasters themselves are essentially actors (albeit a different kind of actor), and editors spend hours in the cutting room splicing and dicing the scenes to achieve perfect timing.
ReplyDeleteNews rooms today are more politically charged than ever before. Each station has its connection to a particular party, creating an extremely biased news system. Like Emilie said, Zimmerman was portrayed as innocent within the broadcasts of the very conservative Republican Fox News. Damning evidence against him was softened or overlooked. That being said, the only fair way to look at this issue is to examine the flip side as well. The liberal Democratic CNN station took Trayvon's side in the case, smoothing over dicey evidence in much the same way Fox News did. In order to get all the information, viewers would need to watch EVERY NEWS STATION, and that's just silly. No one has time for that. People oftentimes simply pick a station that most closely reflects their political views, and stick with that station.
I don't think media will ever be unbiased. The bias was created by individual opinions, and we won't ever get rid of those, so it is unlikely we will ever get away from unbiased media. That being said, it's becoming very clear that stations need to take it down a notch and starting presenting all the facts, without so much spin. People should take everything presented to them through the media with a grain of salt, but, if past records are any indication, everyone should already know that by now.
Being that I've been and still am working in a networking company, I completely agree that presentation is everything. The music, the organization of the layout, the condense wording, and unnuciation is all important when portraying information to a large or even a small group of people.
DeleteMedia today has the power to win over a person's opinion with a great video, a condensed twitter post, and the simple tone and speed of their voice as they recite new information to you over the tv or radio.
Like it's been mentioned, every media has there biased opinion and will most likely post information that goes along with their beliefs. That's why people need to be more open minded when dealing with any information. Because there are always two, if not more, side to any story.
Media in America is one of the most informal way to send messages to the country. Although this informs America about what is going on the new can be extremely bias. Different types of broadcasters directs their message to certain types of viewers. For example Fox News has a more conservative view where as MSNBC leans more to a liberal side. I agree with Emilie that this has a great influence on the public because these news stations control the agenda and give their point of view on the topics and stories. This is a huge issue especially when they discuss stories like the Trayvon Martin case. Because the case dealt with an African American teenager, the issue of race became a huge deal. When this story took place the stations were taking sides of Martin or Zimmerman leaving the public to pay attention to the individuals themselves and not the main issue. The role of media should be to inform issues and leave the public to make their own opinions. The public shouldn’t feel forced to feel a certain way because of the way information is given to them.
ReplyDeleteAs already discussed, the media shapes what they cover and show based on their own biases. They can make someone's words look completely different from what that person meant, and they can take things completely out of context. They can make it literally appear different by adding certain effects. As discussed, reporters frame individuals to make them appear a certain way. This is evident in the Malcolm X video. He was constantly cutting Malcolm off. TV interviews give the audience the illusion that the reporter wants to get a better understanding of the interviewee's viewpoint, but this is most of the time false. The reporter focused on the radical and wouldn't even let Malcolm explain where he was coming from. He didn't focus on any of the positive work that the Nation of Islam is about or why they have to do the work that they have to do.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the Trayvon Martin case and especially the Rodney King verdict, the United States saw a dramatic divide that was very racial. I think that media affects people's views on issues, but I also think that people have and effect on the media's coverage. They show things to people in a way that they know will generate a reaction so people will watch them. We've discussed that republicans are generally becoming more conservative and that democrats are generally becoming more liberal. I think this has an effect on the media.
The media should obviously be objective and holistic, but that doesn't seem possible because media is run by humans with opinions and biases, and there's only a short amount of time to share the news. The way media is shared would have to change dramatically to become more fair, but so would the way that our society operates.
Media has the ability to turn things into a racial issue. While this can be problematic for some cases, as in the Sherman new clip Lillie showed in class, this can also be monumental for people of color. For example, in the case of the Trayvon Martin murder trial, much of the argument was being based on trying to prove Zimmerman was a racist. Living in Florida at the time, where the trail was very big, a lot of people thought there were going to be violent backlash or race riots. The media also played into this by creating suspense. It was almost as if the media was waiting for blacks to react negatively after the verdict and play into the stereotype of "angry black people". This is just incredibly unfair.
ReplyDeleteI agree fully with Kaitlin where she says that media will never be unbiased. Media isn't this mystical thing, but a group of people which present ideas, news, etc. I think media has evolved through internet publications like the Huffington Post. Websites like these allow a greater range of opinions and topics which are much more easily available. I think if media is going to continue to evolve in this way it may too result in diluted news from too much information.
I think that media definitely has the power to turn any issue into something that has to do with race. I think this relates the most to the case of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. After this story broke people automatically pulled out the race card and said that Zimmerman shot Trayvon because he was black. Whether that is true or not I don't think we'll ever know for sure. People were looking past everything else in the case and focusing only on race, and the media did not help.
ReplyDeleteThe media in all of its forms is how people get their news today, and the media can twist any story in order to get people to think a certain way and this leads to a bias. The media will always be bias, and it is up to the people to form their own opinions and try and figure out what news presented is fact and which is opinion-based. I'm not sure if it's possible for the media to be unbiased because everyone has opinions and sometimes it is very hard to ignore one's own beliefs. However, I do wish that the media would be unbiased and show all of the sides of a story and allow people to come to their own conclusions.
-Katelyn Schweitzer
Journalism is supposed to be bias-free, there should be no personal opinions or ideas implemented. However, there is no question that the media plays a role into how the public perceives certain groups of people. Some of these are negative and others are positive, it all depends on what network they appear in. I would say that the role of the media helps create a greater tensions between racial and ethnic groups in America. On one extreme there is right wing media conservative networks and on the other is left wing liberal networks. Both use different biases such as omission of details, exaggeration of stories, choosing what stories to cover, and a poor selection of sources and witnesses to fit with their agenda.
ReplyDeleteI think very little news coverage is fair and it hasn’t change very much from prior racially charged news of the past. The clip from “City Desk” of Malcolm X and the news coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign prove this. They obsessively focused on Barack Obama’s race and not enough on the issues he was running on. Our society is just as obsessed with race now, as it was in 1963. Although it’s not realistic, our media should strive to be as bias free as possible.
Media plays an important role in today’s world. Media affects racial or ethnic groups in America because some people are judged off their skin color or background. Like the video of Barack Obama the Sheriff called him “Barack Hussain Obama” and in the background you hear people scream the word terrorist. People automatically assume that he is a terrorist just like they assume other Muslims are. This is all because of his name. The media always makes everything very negative. If someone was to say one thing the media will completely change it and make it seem like they said something else. The more people listen to the media the more it teaches a person to hate against another group of people. The media can be very bias but like Katie said it is up to the people to decide what they want to believe about whatever the media says just because it’s public. The media should show more of the real facts and not the negative facts and not make people hate each other and think wrongly of each other.
ReplyDeleteAs much as we love it or hate it, media has become a very influential part of our lives. From the news on tv or the newsfeed from our Facebook, something is always being said. The problem here is though that we’ve become gullible. If we see something on the social media, especially on a news station, we have an instinct to believe of what is being said because it is “worthy” enough to be made visible to the public. But what viewers don’t take in mind is the story that was behind it or that a news station can just be simply biased. Each individual will think differently which will have numerous of different perspectives come in play. With that being said, I do believe media does play a big role because if it is shown a lot and repeated, that individual’s perspective will start to form into thinking the way media does. We rely on media to tell us what is going on around the world. We rely too much. We’ve become lazy to find out research on our own because everything is handed to the palm of our hands, literally with our iPhones. News media have apps and all sorts of different technological ways in order to make sure it reaches their viewers. As much as I hate social media, I’m guilty of using it myself most of the time. We can’t really change anything about because this is how the new generation lives.
ReplyDeleteMedia obviously plays an important role in our lives and influences our thoughts. Journalists put a spin on their content to prove their point. Like Danielle said, the reporter constantly interrupts Malcolm X. The reporter also asks questions about Malcolm X’s real name and if he went to court to have it changed. With this wording, it seems the reporter is trying to make Malcolm X look uneducated because he didn't legally change his name.
ReplyDeleteAnd with the Trayvon Martin case, media played a big role on how people viewed the case. Like what Katelyn said, race became a major factor after it hit the media. People weren't able to find out facts about the case since media mostly made it a discussion of race.
I think it’s getting harder to find unbiased sources. There are news stations that clearly take one side or the other and it’s difficult to find media that is impartial. Media has a great amount of power. So instead of pushing their ideals they should use their power to really educate and inform their audiences.
I completely agree that the media plays a major role within our federal government, without their coverage many social movements would have completely disappeared and the many changes in our constitution would have never happened. Without these policy changes a modern America would have never been created. Media coverage is key in the revamping of the political institution and holds many political leaders accountable for their political actions. But in regards to the portrayal of race, the media often caters to the idea of stereotyping in regards to what "news" they choose to cover, as we discussed in class the media ultimately creates their own coverage agenda and later primes and/ or influences the audiences interpretations on certain issues. This really makes the passing of a policy 10x harder, if the media doesn’t agree with a policy that is up for debate it primes the audience to object to it. If the audience objects the probability of a candidate supporting the policy is slime to none. The media is ultimately used as a check and balance for the way the federal government is run, it can not only influence a candidates political career but it also influences the life of many bills. In my opinion three parties run the US, the third one being the media.
ReplyDeleteAs with everyone else, media plays a huge role in each and everyone of our lives. Almost everything that is put in the media is believed as true. Newcasters and other tv personalities are easily able to influence the public not only by the information that they are covering, but they are also able to add their own opinions. They are able to add their own bias and sway opinions of others. It is sad to see that no matter what is put on the news, no one is happy. If they decide to focus on issues that have to do with only one race or ethnicity, all others begin to feel inferior to that group.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that it is fair when it comes to the way that certain news in broadcasted. On the other hand, we cannot cover every single issue within a few hours worth of news segments. Unfortunately, the power lands in the hands of producers and writers who are able to choose the stories that they will cover and the ways in which those stories are covered. They are able to sway the opinion of the public just in the way that they talk about stories in the news without people even having any prior knowledge of the issue. I agree with Sara, that the media is the third party that runs the minds and lives of the people of our country.
The role of the media is obviously to give out information to the public regarding anything around the world or in the community. Media is probably the fastest way if you want exposure. The issue about the media especially news coverage is that they only tell you part of the truth. They are still telling you the facts but not all of it which can lead to confusion and misinformation. I do not think that the media changed from previously racial issues I think it is worded differently now but I think the concept of race in the media is the same. An example of a bias would be the election of President Obama in 2008. News coverage was saying he was a terrorist and other networks were saying he was the messiah which was all nonsense because they had no evidence and it was opinions. It is definitely not fair coverage since they are not telling the truth 100%. The media have the power to sway your opinion to their side if they wanted to. The media should tell the whole truth and have a neutral ground on any topic until someone ask for their opinions or if they can provide evidences then they can say what they want.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the media's role should be to take an unbiased view on the current events going on in the world and bring the facts to the general public. However, ever since I can remember this has be skewed by personal biases, vendettas, or just bad reporting. Today, media is one of the biggest social institutions out there meaning that a lot of people go to the news or even their timeline for information. When they see videos like the one over the 2008 election or the one covering the Trayvon Martin case they may get skewed perceptions about what's actually happening because of the reporter's bias. I feel like the media tends to use certain words, phrases, or body language to convey the wrong message to the people. With the video about the 2008 election, one of the reporters referred to Barack Obama as, "Barack Hussain Obama" and it is those conventions of reporting that will get the public to have a different view on a topic than what they would if straight facts were to be reported. Finally, I feel like media still has a lot of time to grow and prosper and become an excellent outlet for news; however, if it keeps going the way it is now the social/racial biases will just end up getting worse.
ReplyDelete-Tyler Betancourt