International Media Communication - Research Paper Example

?International Media Communication Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background of the Story: President Obama’s Support of Same-Sex Marriage 4 4 ThePortrayal of the Story in Fox News and The Guardian 5 Critical Review 7 Conclusion 11 11 References 12 Bibliography 15 Introduction Media channels such as the news media, especially those engaged in conveying facts related to the ongoing social, political, and industrial alterations and specifications, have been repeatedly criticized for their ideology of ‘giving voice to issues’. Contextually, it is owing to this particular notion to which various international news media channels adhere that these media channels are considered to be among the crucial driving forces in the modern day society (Samson, et al., 2012). The 21st century phenomenon is such that the role played by the news media as a worthy communicator in the international forefront has attracted various accreditations in relation to their persuasive involvement in geopolitical decision-making and social upholding (Golan, et al., 2010). With the free flow of information in the international arena, where the participants in the other countries now possess better accessibility to the facts and issues faced by the neighboring countries, the international media communication channels such as the news media are often criticized of being influenced by the socio-cultural and political biases or else raising the risk of ‘false consciousness’ and even ‘racial stereotyping’ (Barnhurst, 2005; Media Monitoring Project, 1999). Based on these aspects, the discussion henceforth will intend to illustrate and critically review two news stories presented from distinct ideologies by two international media channels, the Fox News of the United States and The Guardian of the United Kingdom. The stories have been selected based on the same issue, the recent support of President Mr. Barack Obama of same-sex marriages in the United States. Background of the Story: President Obama’s Support of Same-Sex Marriage Same-sex marriages have long been under critical scrutiny by social and political institutions in the United States. Even though six states of the geopolitical region of the United States, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York, have legally permitted the performance of same-sex marriages, the federal law yet restricts the act to be accredited openly in the American society. Apparently, the depiction of agreeability or vice-versa of the legal approval for same-sex marriages has emerged to be a base for distinction between social groups. In the social context of America, the polarization based on same-sex marriage accreditations has been apparent since the implementation of the policy measure “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by the former President Mr. Bill Clinton in the year 1992. This policy measure placed emphasis on restricting the open depiction of homosexual behavior, especially within the military base (Singer, 2008). This polarization in the American society has become more perceptible with the statement in favor of homosexual marriages made by the President Obama to the ABC News. In his words, “...I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married” (Klein, 2012). This particular appraisal by the current President of the United States attracted a mass attention not only in the national context but also from the international horizon, making an obvious presence in the international media channels. Recently, after being aired in the news media, the support of Mr. Barack Obama came reverberating in the Fox News as well as in The Guardian, the former being a renowned tabloid in the United States and the latter in the United Kingdom. However, in both the narratives a distinct ideology can be examined in the course of illustrating the statements connoted by the American President. Where the narration or the story portrayed by the Fox News can be identified as highly inclined towards the social polarization caused by the President’s support of homosexual marriages, The Guardian has placed greater emphasis on the political significance of this act, with the shortly arriving presidential elections in America. The Portrayal of the Story in Fox News and The Guardian In relation to the story depicted in the article of Fox News, it is apparent that the American tabloid has attached greater significance to the social perceptions and prevailing beliefs in the Latin community. The presented facts and statements made by personnel from various social institutions, which are either directly or indirectly allied with the certification of marriages in the American society, have been highlighted in the particular article of Fox News titled as “Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage Sparks Strong Reactions from Latinos”. Supposedly, the article provides a clear depiction of the socio-cultural vacillations resulting from the President’s acceptance or rather moral support of the same-sex marriages within the community. The article can also be learnt to provide a weak but apparent insinuation towards the political disputes concerning President Obama’s open support of homosexual marriages, apparently delivered in accordance with his personal attachments, values, beliefs and perceptions. The article also discloses the piece of evidence based on which these political disagreements were emerging being grounded on the prior incongruity deciphered by the President in the year 2008 (Llenas and Planas, 2012). The history of such arguments on the political forefront can be rooted in November 2008, when Mr. Barack Obama, being a Democratic presidential candidate, had publicly affirmed to disregard approving same-sex marriages, even though he did not firmly disregard the values of equality in terms of democratic rights for all in the Latin society (Elsworth, 2008). Certainly, as he changed his view in favor of homosexual marriages certifications in the United States, his comments aired on ABC News attracted opposition of the political consortiums and thus led to such vacillations. However, the discussion in the Fox News was not moulded with emphasis on either of the favorable statements or the arguments against such views made by the President, but on both. The facts raised in the article were also inclined to predominantly connote the identified aspects without the idiom of biases, especially those depicting the social interpretation of the somewhat political warfare (Llenas and Planas, 2012). Reflecting on the article published in The Guardian, a British tabloid, various differences can be identified in relation to the ideologies considered in Fox News. The story published in The Guardian tends to provide a critical narrative on the role of Mr. Barack Obama as the current United States President, weighing the arguments on social and political rudiments. On one hand, the narrative of the story presented in Fox News was largely based on the Latin social vacillations attaching comparatively lesser, but apparent, significance to the political impression. Whereas, on the other hand, the sequence of events narrated in the article of The Guardian reflected more on the political impression created by President’s statements, depicting a strong interrelation between the social and the governmental rows (MacAskill and Gabbatt, 2012). The fact can be witnessed if the introductory lines of the two articles are once again referred to. As narrated in Fox News by Llenas & Planas (2012), “In a move that could change how Latinos vote in the 2012 Presidential election, Barack Obama became the first U.S. President to announce his support for same-sex marriage Wednesday, revising his longstanding position on the issue...For gay and lesbian Latinos, the announcement was long overdue”. On the similar ground, in The Guardian, MacAskill & Gabbatt (2012) narrates, “Barack Obama has declared his unequivocal support for same-sex marriage, taking a bold political gamble on an issue that divides American voters just months before a presidential election”. Critical Review Considering the role of both the newspapers, the Fox News and The Guardian, in the international media communication, it can be evidently noted that both these tabloids have a crucial role in influencing the perceptions conceived by the common public or the audiences of media channels. Moreover, they also enjoy a significant degree of freedom due to the free flow of information, which in turn deliberates their power to give voice to noteworthy issues. This particular phenomenon in the international media communication has been designated by various laws or accreditations being justified on the ground that media should be playing the role of a ‘watchdog’, especially of governmental regimes and various other socio-political and economic specifications. As stated by Whitten-Woodring (2009), democratic governmental structures are expected to have a free media system, unlike the autocracies with government-controlled media, even though the classification may not be perceived as rigid. A crucial point to which the study made by Whitten-Woodring (2009) attracts noteworthy concern is the impact created by these media publications on government functioning and, likewise, the consequential performance of the government, which often has been accused of transforming the role of these media channels from ‘watchdogs’ to ‘lapdogs’. In relation to the case of the portrayed story as presented by Fox News and The Guardian, it can be affirmed that being the tabloids of democratic governmental structures has deciphered their power of free media systems. On the flipside, it can be expected that the apparent presentation of the social disputes and categorization within the Latin society, based on the President’s statements regarding the approval of homosexual marriages by Fox News, can grant a reason to the US government to take control of its operations. However, The Guardian, being a British tabloid, is likely to have a comparatively lesser risk to be controlled by either of the two governments on similar grounds. However, the facts highlighted by The Guardian on the political stature of America prior to its upcoming electoral campaigns might possess a significant impact on the governmental functions, especially in the international forefront. Another major aspect that can be considered in this particular discussion relates to the impact of biases of communication in political journalism. In this regard, the theory presented by Harold Innis as “The Bias of Communication” can be quite noteworthy. In his theory, Innis regarded two types of biases as time-bias and space-bias. In this context, time-biased media are those having significant durability to create a long-lasting impact on the society. While, on the contrary, a space-biased media tend to have better coverage or extension in the space, being readily transportable (Media Studies, 2007). Hence, with regard to the role played by Fox News and The Guardian, the former being the national media of America and the latter being the foreign media, Fox News can be considered as time-biased, in this case having a deep impact on the Latin society. The story narrated in this newspaper is significantly heavier and more durable than compared to that of The Guardian, evidently not quite likely to be ignored by the Latin society within a short span of time. On the other hand, possessing a wide coverage in the international media communication, The Guardian can be figured as space-biased, narrating foreign political arguments strongly attracting global attention, even though for a weaker duration. The utilization of newspeak can be considered as noteworthy evidence in this regards. The journalism articles published in today’s era, especially those critiquing or even narrating socially debatable topics, have often been identified to use newspeak with its purpose to present a pathway to the world-view (Orwell, 1984). In relation to the narration presented in Fox News, the newspeak used, such as “Latino evangelicals...”, “The all-but-confirmed GOP candidate...”, and “strong partisan split...”, can be observed as a few of the strong attributes likely to impose a long lasting impression on the Latin society and government as well proving the media channel to be time-biased. Similarly, the newspeak used in the narration of The Guardian, such as “unequivocal support...”, “bold political gamble...”, “hastily-arranged ABC interview...”, and “caution and disappointment about Obama’s recent failure...”, can be expected to have a strong but less durable impact on the Latin society and government, owing to the reason that it is a foreign media to the country. However, in relation to the international media communication ideology, both the news reports can be identified to have significant global impression. Furthermore, from an in-depth perspective, the story portrayal in Fox News can be evaluated on the basis of ‘racial stereotyping’, while the narration in The Guardian can be weighed-up on the basis of ‘false consciousness’. Evidently, it might be perceived that Fox News, being comparatively more inclined towards the split between ‘Latin evangelicals’ and other Latin communities, has placed greater emphasis on racial conflicts rather than the social concerns. Hence, this particular attribute evidently portrays an incident of ‘racial stereotyping’, even though in a less stressful way (Media Monitoring Project, 1999). Likewise, the report published in The Guardian emphasizes largely the American politics, which can be decoded as a function to portray ‘monolithic expressions’, according to the theory of ‘false consciousness’ as presented by the Marxist theorists (Chandler, 1995). Conclusion Evaluating the ideologies of both Fox News and The Guardian, one becomes convinced that even though the storylines considered in the publications are grounded on the identical fact, the political statement made by President Obama, these narrations have different significances and limitations. Where the story in Fox News indicates a degree of ‘racial stereotyping’, the story of The Guardian is an instance of ‘false consciousness’. Despite these limitations, the narrations can be identified to be quite significant on the basis of their biases. From a generalized point of view, it can be recommended that, considering their roles, powers, and responsibilities to the public knowledge, media should be strictly inclined to evaluate the consequences or the reactions to be generated by the global society in response to their publishing. References Barnhurst, K. G., 2005. News Ideology in the Twentieth Century. Nordic Information Center for Media and Communication Research, pp. 239-265. Chandler, D., 1995. Marxist Media Theory. Connolly Youth Movement. [Online] Available at: http://www.cym.ie/documents/chandler.pdf [Accessed June 18, 2012]. Elsworth, C., 2008. Barack Obama: ‘Marriage Is Between A Man And A Woman’. The Telegraph. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/3375059/Barack-Obama-marriage-is-between-a-man-and-a-woman.html [Accessed June 18, 2012]. Golan, G. J. & et. al., 2010. International Media Communication in a Global Age. Taylor & Francis. Klein, R., 2012. Obama: ‘I Think Same-Sex Couples Should Be Able to Get Married’. ABC News. [Online] Available at: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/05/obama-comes-out-i-think-same-sex-couples-should-be-able-to-get-married/ [Accessed June 18, 2012]. Llenas, B. & Planas, R., 2012. Obama's Support of Gay Marriage Sparks Strong Reactions from Latinos. Fox News Latino. [Online] Available at: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/05/09/obama-support-gay-marriage-sparks-strong-reactions-from-latinos/ [Accessed June 18, 2012]. MacAskill, E. & Gabbatt, A., 2012. Barack Obama Speaks Out and Declares Support for Same-Sex Marriage. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: http://www.sahrc.org.za/home/21/files/Reports/Investigation%20into%20racial%20stereotype%20in%20th%20emedia.pdf [Accessed June 18, 2012]. Media Monitoring Project, 1999. The News in Black and White: An Investigation into Racial Stereotyping in the Media. Reports. 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