After President Trump’s exciting victory in November,
you noticed, and still do notice today, a divide amongst the people of our nation.
We have people excited for the future of our country, and we have people who
are worried about the future of our country. This is easily compared to the split
in our political parties, which even further can be compared to the split in
our media. However, I would say the 3 categories of political news would be: right
leaning, left leaning, and fake news. No matter where you find yourself on the
spectrum, we all must be conscious of the manipulation of the world at large. You
must be skeptical of everything, and trust no one source.
A hot topic as of recent would be President Trump’s immigration
ban, which has grabbed the media’s attention, and has been a continuous back
and forth of facts, opinions, biases, and emotions. The best media outlets I could
compare would be Fox News and CNN, who have completely different stories on the
sole topic. But here’s the deal people, there is only one truth. No matter how you spin it, or what you choose to
believe. There is nothing better for these political outlets than a naïve audience
to take advantage of.
Here are the facts, the immigration ban was placed
upon 7 countries including Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia.
The left sided media (CNN) is calling this a “Muslim Ban.” And what most people
don’t seem to understand is that this temporary ban, does not include Indonesia
and India, which just so happen to be the most Muslim populated countries. Of course,
without further research by viewers, most people would probably not know that. Is
CNN lying? No, they just aren’t sharing those specific details. Another
platform the left sided media has been running on is the thought that this
immigration ban, is “Un-American and Unconstitutional.” This accusation is
actually quite comical because Barack Obama actually did the same thing in 2014
when he temporarily eliminated immigration. CNN chose to not include this fact,
whereas the right leaning media (Fox News) did. Speaking of Fox News, their
platform of this controversial topic is that during the race for presidency,
Donald Trump’s campaign promise was to keep this country safe, no matter the
measure. Some may debate that he kept his promise, or stepped over the line and
abused his power as President.
As you can tell, it’s all a matter of interpretation and
what news source you watch. Our political outlets are merely just a game of “telephone.”
You know, that game we all played in elementary school, when you’re given a
story and at the end it’s completely misconstrued after being passed down a
long line of people. Words get twisted, either on purpose or by accident and it’s
our job to do further research and compare these sources. Although media
outlets like Fox News and CNN can be misleading or bias, chances are they aren’t
completely wrong, and are not lying to you.
Sharp insights here! You seem well on your way to a career as a television pundit! Remember that the goal of this assignment is not to assess the appropriateness or accuracy of any outlet's coverage of any event, but rather to recognize and critically analyze the strategies and tactics being used to persuade the public.
ReplyDeleteYou do an excellent job of pointing out the inconsistencies with media coverage regarding immigration and national security. This latest executive order is already being described as either "necessary" for security or as yet another indication that Trump is a racist and that his immigration orders amount to a humanitarian crisis. You express frustration by suggesting that there "is only one truth" but I might suggest that there are innumerable frames and lenses through which events (or executive orders) can be interpreted. Are you suggesting that the real problem here is found in how - or whether - each outlet defines the problem in the first place? After all, the "correct" solution can only be found if the actual problem is being discussed.
You have touched on a number of themes here, including media fairness, the constitutionality of executive orders, the bias of different media outlets, the "telephone game" nature of television news, etc. When we discuss the mass media industry later in our semester, we will discover important theories like Agenda Setting - where the focus (or lack thereof) of the media results in a similar focus (or inattention) from the public. And, as you state, the major outlets don't ever "lie" to their viewers, they just choose which truth to reveal.
Good stuff here! You need to do more to focus on the specific disagreement which will become the subject of your analysis. Let me know how I can help!
Thanks for your feedback Dr.Ron! Your comment about being on my way to a career as a television pundit made my day. I like to consider myself an avid political news viewer, everyday there is something new or exciting happening in the world, and it’s very interesting to see how different news media outlets illustrate the issue/ topic. The temporary immigration ban will be a hot topic in the news for a pretty long time. It’s fair to say that anyone can interpret this executive order as they wish, and that is when they choose which “frame” to look through. Those who support President Trump’s executive order will watch Fox News, those who are not in support may watch CNN. These “personalized” outlets confirm our thoughts and feelings, making us feel less alone and less crazy. Let’s just imagine a perfect world with ONE news outlet that gives the full story and truth, and everyone HAD to get their information from that source. Would we be constantly be coming for each other’s throats in political debates? Probably not. Would we have to be skeptical of everything we heard? Nope. Would we be fighting with our dear Aunt Kathy on Facebook about how wrong she is about everything political? No. The political media seems more like an entertainment platform than an informative platform as of late. The bickering, name calling, and back and forth is the fun part, that’s why they do it. We all love to stir the pot. I have some great articles in mind that cover the many bases of persuasive efforts used by the media regarding the temporary immigration ban.
DeleteInterestingly, the temporary immigration ban hasn't exactly remained the "hot topic" that many of us assumed it would be. Instead, as with many news stories, it has receded to become part of the mass-narrative for either side.
ReplyDeleteYou are, unfortunately, correct describing the political media as an "entertainment platform." But, it is the nature of that entertainment which is to be the subject matter for our term papers here. Narratives emerge from specific issues - and they will always remain consistent with larger, partisan interests. We still need you to focus more specifically on an appropriate-scale idea here.
Let me know how I can help!