Interaction between the Media and the Audience - Coursework Example

Author’s name Insert Surname Instructors’ Name Course Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 4 Literature Review 5 Brief Overview of Media coverage of the Iraq War 5 U.S. mainstream media coverage of 2003 war Iraq 6 Criticisms of Pro-Invasion Bias 7 Allegations of propaganda 9 American Media failed its audience in Iraq war 9 Interrelated Areas in Media’s Failure 10 Audiences’ Role in Media Criticism 13 Findings 14 Recommendations 15 Conclusion 16 Work cited 17 Abstract The following paper intends to analyze the role the audience of the media plays in the media criticism. It will focus on the interrelation between the media and its audience. A great emphasis has been given to the role the American media played in the Iraqi war. These include the propaganda and the biased reporting that was witnessed especially by the major news networks such as the CNN and the Fox News. The role of the audience in the Medias’ accountability and responsibility reporting has also been provided. Finally, some recommendations have been outlined regarding the steps that the media and the audiences need to take. Introduction It is evident that media plays a great role in the society nowadays. It is therefore not imaginable how the world could be run without the influence of media in many aspects. This is because the presence of media in almost all facets of life can be felt. These include social, economic and poloiticla issues in the society (Assmann, 123). Communication and distribution of information is crucial .it ensures that people are involved named updated on what is happening in the world at every moment and from almost all regions across the globe. The demand of information has increased tremendously due to continued increase in social, economic and political dynamism in the society (Imani, 312). This notion has been grabbed by investors thus; many media stations and channels have since been established in order to tap the ever-increasing widening market. The proliferation of the various media stations and channels in the industry has compromised the integrity of journalism and fairness in reporting. In actual sense, the result of this massive presence of media players both internationally and at local levels is that the business angle has been emphasized all along. Therefore, the business people, and more so the investors, have been emphasizing on how they can get back their money through attracting as much audience as possible. This is not possible unless these players studies the audience and get to know what the society is demanding. Depending on the target market, these media outlets has been reporting their news to favor such segments. The inclusion of biases in journalism is therefore witnessed in many of these media. A good example is the role the media plays in the war torn nations around the world. In most of these places, journalist’s reports depending on what their market or audience expect from such areas (Assmann, 243). A case in point is the Iraq war where Western Media has been accused of being biased in their reporting. This means that the audience in any media reporting has a role they play in criticizing how various media stains are carrying out their work work. On this note, this paper intends to analyze the relation bête wee the media, audiences, and more so the role that the latter plays in ensure responsible and accountable reporting. The paper will concentrate on the Iraq war and the influence of media on the same. The general view from the study is that it is the responsibility of the audience to ensure that media is responsible in its work and exposing the gaps that are left by journalism in the reporting. Literature Review Brief Overview of Media coverage of the Iraq War As stated earlier on, Iraq war has been faced with a lot of biased media coverage. Research indicates that some journalist knew about the upcoming war way in advance. To some extent, some disclosed where the American warplanes could hit next. American media, specifically, was criticized for its coverage of the Iraq war. The coverage attracted unprecedented attention from many U.S media stations and channels (Assmann, 212). However, much of this was being done by the Fox News. Further, most of the coverage was marred with controversy as many of that media ware accused of supporting the war or reporting in support of the invasion. In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, many journalists were caught in between the gunfire involving American troops and the Iraqi. Consequently, many lost their lives. In the process, a lot of propaganda and censorship became prevalent U.S. mainstream media coverage of 2003 war Iraq Fox news was the most popular cable network dung the 2003 war Iraq. The influence of this media network was felt by other outlets in America and the world at large (Tumber, 218). This is because most of these outlets relied on this network for its reporting. The owner of Fox news, Mr. Rupert Murdoch, is a believer and supporter of war. On the network’s screen, the media displayed animation of American flag indicating the freedom the Iraqi people would get from the war. Accordion top study carried out by Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) in 2003, which involve tracking of the frequencies of antiwar and pro-war commentator in major world’s networks, the pro-war views ware more frequent. Further, the study indicated that Fox News and CBS were could not provide a critical view of the situation on the ground (Petersen, et al, 138). Therefore, to make matters worse, these two media outlets are so influential and their coverage reaches most parts of the world. The influence of such networks in the spread of war in such regions and in the people’s minds was enormous. Further, MSNBC also joined its counterparts in displaying American flag and sometimes running a tribute showing how Americans were the bravest. In some instances, America media outlets were involved in fighting those who were against American policy and the war in Iraq (Tumber, 322). A good example was the case in MSNBC, where the senior management sacked Phil Donahue, who was a liberal for criticizing the manner in which Bush was applying his policy in Iraq. This was only a month before the invasion had begun. Iraqi war had attracted competition among media outlets where the CNN, Fox news and MSNBC fought to get as much viewing as possible. These networks are listened to globally and therefore have a lot of influence across the globe. Some journalists were fired in this process including Peter Arnett who was working for NBC and National Geographic after having an interview with Iraqi officials. It was felt that these journalists were working with Iraq officials in giving some intelligence about the operation thus compromising the entire insurgency. Criticisms of Pro-Invasion Bias A study indicates that in the lead of the Iraq war, most media sources are believed to have supported the war. According a study varied out by the Maryland University, more than 57% of the mainstream media viewers felt that Iraq was supporting al-Qaida network and was responsible for the attack in September 11. The study also showed that about sixty-nine percent felt that Sadam Hussein was personally responsible for the attack while another twenty percent of these viewers believed that mass destruction weapons were found in Iraq (Tumber, 111). The study involved major media outlets. It should be noted that the audiences’ point of view is influenced by the same media they are supporting or the kind of information given to them. The same trend was observed in the news coverage of the Colin Powell's 2003 U.N. address, where, John Oddo, a rhetorical scholar indicated that mainstream media strengthened Powell’s credibility as well as predisposing audiences to favorably respond to his discourse. They deliberately altered his claims so that it could appear more certain and warranted. In addition, a study by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting stated that most to the network news concentrated on pro war sources in their reporting (Tumber, 398). This was being done in a very disproportionately early manner. According to this study, only three percent of the USA sources were antiwar while around 64 percent of the total sources were supporting the war. A closer statistics showed the audiences of such media were six times more prone to watch pro-war sentiments compared to antiwar messaging (Mack, 143). It was also indicated in a study that was conducted in 2004 by the same institution, that among the 319 sources of information by the media, 76 percent included former or current government officials. This means that most of the audiences were deliberately subjected to pro-war information. Critics have also argued that during the invasion, most of the mainstream media only relied on optimistic events that showed that the invasion was going as planned and nothing was going wrong. A good example is the toppling of Sadam Hussein statue, which was conducted with the help of the American forces. Such news downplayed any negative event in the entire process. Further, most of the mainstream media have been criticized for ignoring to report on Iraqi civilian casualties, which was believed to be around 100,000 to 650,000. Over the years, the Iraqi situation has dramatically worsened. Therefore, many journalists have found it difficult to report from there without jeopardizing their lives (Tumber, 177). On the same note, most of the media outlets are not able to afford security services therefore abandoning their outlets in Baghdad. The obvious result is that most of these are made to depend entirely on the US and the military sources when reporting. This position has made many critics to questions the impartiality of such reporting. Allegations of propaganda Many organizations and individuals such as the former UN secretary general Koffi Annan have said that Iraqi war is illegal. However, such segments have never been mentioned by the USA major media outlets. Some critics of the war such as Noam Chomsky have questioned the manner in which the media has failed to report on the illegality of the war. Instead, according to him, media has been escalating war propaganda to their audiences. They rely on the assumptions given by the forces of pro-war, including government officials (Tumber, 144). It is worrying that the media is doing this even with overwhelming public support of invasion only after UN endorsement. In an interview he questions how the media overwhelmingly covered the Afghan War Diaries, which was released by the Wikileaks and ignoring the severe health problems in Fallujah. According to the British media, the situation in Fallujah was worse than Hiroshima but it was never covered by the American media. Further, the media coverage of battle in Fallujah was only based on the ideological bias spreading pro government propaganda. He assets that the New York Times recorded the events in Fallujah but it was a celebrated reporting on the ongoing war crimes. On the other hand, an investigation by New York Times indicated how to pentagon officials discussed a special report with news analysts who would later be advised to ensure that they spoke favorably about the Iraqi war. The information was compiled in 8000 page document comprising secret information, which was revealed by the news agency in a lawsuit. The reward for this was organizing of classified information trips as well as contracts for the news analysts. American Media failed its audience in Iraq war Studies indicate that the period between the 9/11 and America invasion of Iraq is one of the greatest collapses in the American media reporting history. All media outlets including radio, newspapers, TV stations, magazines, website is and cables channels failed din this respect. The failure has been documented din almost all areas of journalism. In most cases, all lies and distortions of American administration went unreported (Tumber, 127). On contrary, they were protected and thus advancing the war in Iraq. Problematic and fundamentals about war on terror were rarely mentioned or debated in many of these. To make matters worse, the real audience for this media were never consulted or involved in the debates. Further, vital historical information about the international relationship and wars was never tackled. The normal good and humble reporting was never present during this time. The most horrific failure b by the press was its inability to explain to its audience why this war launched in the first place. It is indicated that three was no consensus among the top stakeholders on this war was necessary (Ruggiero, 187). Many surveys have shown that most of the American still don not have an answer to this questions. Further, this failure was also witnessed in the Congress, after it endorsed the war and gave bush permission to go ahead with invasion. Since many of the American people were kept in darkness, all what they had to do is to follow the event only to realize later that it was not called for. It argued that if the media could have played it’s rightfully role responsibly, then the war could not have taken place. Interrelated Areas in Media’s Failure Three areas can be looked at in the media’s failure in the Iraqi war. These include psychological, institutional and ideological aspects. The psychological impact of this is that journalists are caught in a dilemma when they consider both patriotism and unbiased reporting. Further, most journalists consider themselves as autonomous and thus their work is not questionable. This shows that sometimes they find themselves following guidelines which they are not authored by themselves or which are not outlined in any manuscript (Tumber, 367). A case in point is the 9/11 attack. It is acceptable and understandable that in such situations local journalists and all those affected will be emotional. Therefore, the issue of patriotism comes in. at times; this may be psychologically strong that journalists find themselves having biased reporting. Many are caught in advocating for a certain action to be taken instead of giving their audience what is on the ground. Such are mistakes that are committed by many media firms in the world. The same happened before, .during and ‘after, Iraq invasion. As stated above, journalists Fox news was mostly affected by the psychological aspect of media failure. American patriotism was put ahead of everything, without considering the actual reporting of the war and situations. Therefore, the ever obedient was put in darkness about the other side of the story. They believed what was being reported. However, the psychological problem of journalism is normal, especially in such circumstances when they are caught in between patriotism and responsible reporting. However, sometimes the problems are so much that they do not understand when doing such a mistake. The revelation of media patriotism especially after the attacks shows the delicate barrier that exists between propaganda and responsible journalism (Gow, 156). A good example is the animation of American flag on the Fox News screen as mentioned above. Media outlets need to be careful in such circumstances since they may lose their audience after the latter come to realize how irresponsible they were informed. The ideological issues had also affected many of the media outlets in America. It is evident that American society shares the same ideological beliefs with their Israel counterparts. This orientation is one that guides their reaction towards Arabs, Middle East and terrorism in general. This observation was noted through the support that American media gave to the president Bush. This orientation, which is taken as ‘appropriate’ by Americans affects almost all media outlets and especially in their coverage of the Middle East or the Arabic world (Einnerstein, 120). The same was the case in the coverage of the Iraqi war. A survey has shown that in most of the American media outlets, Muslim and Arabic points of views are generally ignored. They are not reported, therefore blocking their audience of such important information. A good example is the New York Times reliance in experts from the Washington Institute on Near East Affairs (WINEP), for any issues related to Israel (Tumber, 124). These outlets rarely do they ask center-left or left wing Middle East experts to comment on such matters. Despite the continued criticism on the source of information that American media feeds the world, there seem no efforts to rethink on this issue. On the other hand, American media has been accused of fueling the western culture in other parts of the world, based on such ideological motives. The institutional problem is a two-fold aspect where journalists have to deal with the systems at their place of work as well as the government and other networks they have to go through in order to report a certain case. As mentioned above the power of the Fox news is one of the war supporters ink the USA. It would be incredible if his employees had gone against his ideas. On this note, journalists are therefore forced to report based on their outlets’ ideals and beliefs (Tumber, 365). These observations can also be seen in many more media stations, even at the local levels. The government machinery is also sometimes complicated to allow journalists to get the correct information. As observed above, most of the journalists try to canvass with the government officials in trying to access some information. However, most of them end up being bribed and coached on how they need to report any disclosed information just is the case with pentagon and the news analysts. Further, the mainstream media was not fully equipped to deal with secretive, vengeful and manipulative information (Daniel et al, 146). This was the case during the Bush administration, thus inhibiting responsible and accurate coverage of the events. Audiences’ Role in Media Criticism As earlier mentioned, there are many instances where the audience of the media is left in darkness. In most cases, the audience does not know the reality of the situation. Therefore, the public is made to believe what is being channeled or reported. This is what has been happening in many of the battlefields in the world including Iraq. However, the place for such irresponsible repotting is rapidly decreasing due to the presence of various media channels that the public can get information (Spengler, 154). The evolution of social media has revolutionized the media industry. In actual sense, some of those who are active in the social media get breaking news before the conventional media informs the audience. Therefore, the result is that many media stations and outlets have been careful on what they bear reporting in order to avoid the backlash on the online team. Some of the social media platforms include Facebook and twitter. The main work of the audience of the media is to ensure that there is responsible reporting and on what is fed to the public. The above information is clear indication of the role audience of the media play in criticizing journalism. Further, it ensures there is truth in reporting by provision of evidences. Most of the media stations and outlets do not entertain criticism or correction especially on a matter that touches on their ideals (Spengler, 176). This was observed in the criticism on Bush administration and his policy in the Iraq invasion. As noted earlier, several media personalities were fired or there programs were cancelled. Findings Media has the greatest role to play in information the public on what is happening on the ground. Based on the above literature materials, the American media did not play its part in informing the public on the reality of the situations. However, it is clear that most of the media outlets where doing this deliberately while others were also in darkness. Further, major American media outlets such as CNN and Fox were responsible for most of the information even to the public. Most of the smaller media channels were too able to access information that the public badly needed (Wiebe, 133). The result is that that the public was fed with heavily biased information. At the same time, some media lacks the necessary resources in ensuring they get to the grassroots and provide firsthand information. However, governments also play critical roles in ensuring that hose media outlets that are not reporting their ideologies are blocked for accessing ‘Special information’. If this is done, then they are given guidelines on how they should report the same... On the other hand, journalists are affected by those issues when reporting to their audience. These issues can be both at individual or organizations level. The bureaucracy in accessing information from the reliable government sources or systems appears to be challenging for most of the journalists (Raul, 121). Psychological aspects, as well as ideological motives affected the way media outlets covered Iraq war. In order to ensure that the audience remains respectful to their media, journalists are forced to provide propaganda to the public (Rosewarne et al, 187). The influence of various forces on reporting including government officials makes it hard for media outlets to be subjective in their reporting. Iraqi war coverage has been marred with objective reporting which is only expected to please some players and spreading some ideologies. Recommendations There is need for the media outlets to ensure they equip themselves in order to be independent in their work. If this is done, such instances could have happened. Further, it ensures that any media outlets can go to the field and collect its own data. However, the facilitation of media channel calls for more investment. The media owners should ensure they are independent as much as possible. In addition, there is need for media outlets to be more responsible and accountable in their reporting. The stakeholders need to remember that their audience expected no more or less than this. This will ensure that audience and the entire public are satisfied by such information. The governments have all along been accused of interfering with media freedom. There is need for governments to offer more freedom to journalists and media stations so that the public can be informed on what is happening. The information that is required should be made available to all media outlets without any bias. Conclusion The role of the audience in journalism is important just like is the case with the media’s responsibility to the society. However, the audiences should ensure that they flex their muscles in criticizing what he media is feeding the public. On the other hand, the accountability and responsibility of the media to the public should not be compromised. Iraqi war could have been averted if the media had played its role in a responsible manner. The use of social; medico has helped greatly in minimizing such irresponsible reporting. Work cited Assmann, Aleida. Cultural Memory and Western Civilization: Functions, Media, Archives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print. Daniel, Wilkinson. Injustice in the war: Why it persists. Bristol: Policy, 2011. Print. Einnerstein, Leonard. The American Media. New York, N.Y: Oxford University Press, 1994. Print. Gow, Andrew C. The Audience of the Media. Leiden: Brill, 1995. Print. Imani M. Crimes against Humanity in the Battlefield, 2014. Print. Mack, Lenih. Responsible Reporting. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books, 2012. Print. Petersen, Hans C. Effects of Iraq War in Eastern Europe: Frankfurt is Main: Peter Lang, 2010. Print. Raul, Pertierra. The 2003 invasion of Iraq: Arabic and European Experiences. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2007. Print. Rosewarne, Michael. Criticism on Media: The Inner Philosophical Responses. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2003. Print. Ruggiero, Vincent R. Thinking Critically About Media .Dubuque: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. Spengler, Oswald, Helmut Werner, Arthur Helps, and Charles F. Atkinson. The Decline of the West. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. Tumber, Howard, and Jerry Palmer. Media at War: The Iraq Crisis. London: Sage Publications, 2004. Internet resource. Wiebe, Elen. The Media Role in War: Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1987. Internet resource. Read More

On this note, this paper intends to analyze the relation bête wee the media, audiences, and more so the role that the latter plays in ensure responsible and accountable reporting. The paper will concentrate on the Iraq war and the influence of media on the same. The general view from the study is that it is the responsibility of the audience to ensure that media is responsible in its work and exposing the gaps that are left by journalism in the reporting. Literature Review Brief Overview of Media coverage of the Iraq War As stated earlier on, Iraq war has been faced with a lot of biased media coverage.

Research indicates that some journalist knew about the upcoming war way in advance. To some extent, some disclosed where the American warplanes could hit next. American media, specifically, was criticized for its coverage of the Iraq war. The coverage attracted unprecedented attention from many U.S media stations and channels (Assmann, 212). However, much of this was being done by the Fox News. Further, most of the coverage was marred with controversy as many of that media ware accused of supporting the war or reporting in support of the invasion.

In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, many journalists were caught in between the gunfire involving American troops and the Iraqi. Consequently, many lost their lives. In the process, a lot of propaganda and censorship became prevalent U.S. mainstream media coverage of 2003 war Iraq Fox news was the most popular cable network dung the 2003 war Iraq. The influence of this media network was felt by other outlets in America and the world at large (Tumber, 218). This is because most of these outlets relied on this network for its reporting.

The owner of Fox news, Mr. Rupert Murdoch, is a believer and supporter of war. On the network’s screen, the media displayed animation of American flag indicating the freedom the Iraqi people would get from the war. Accordion top study carried out by Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) in 2003, which involve tracking of the frequencies of antiwar and pro-war commentator in major world’s networks, the pro-war views ware more frequent. Further, the study indicated that Fox News and CBS were could not provide a critical view of the situation on the ground (Petersen, et al, 138).

Therefore, to make matters worse, these two media outlets are so influential and their coverage reaches most parts of the world. The influence of such networks in the spread of war in such regions and in the people’s minds was enormous. Further, MSNBC also joined its counterparts in displaying American flag and sometimes running a tribute showing how Americans were the bravest. In some instances, America media outlets were involved in fighting those who were against American policy and the war in Iraq (Tumber, 322).

A good example was the case in MSNBC, where the senior management sacked Phil Donahue, who was a liberal for criticizing the manner in which Bush was applying his policy in Iraq. This was only a month before the invasion had begun. Iraqi war had attracted competition among media outlets where the CNN, Fox news and MSNBC fought to get as much viewing as possible. These networks are listened to globally and therefore have a lot of influence across the globe. Some journalists were fired in this process including Peter Arnett who was working for NBC and National Geographic after having an interview with Iraqi officials.

It was felt that these journalists were working with Iraq officials in giving some intelligence about the operation thus compromising the entire insurgency. Criticisms of Pro-Invasion Bias A study indicates that in the lead of the Iraq war, most media sources are believed to have supported the war. According a study varied out by the Maryland University, more than 57% of the mainstream media viewers felt that Iraq was supporting al-Qaida network and was responsible for the attack in September 11.

The study also showed that about sixty-nine percent felt that Sadam Hussein was personally responsible for the attack while another twenty percent of these viewers believed that mass destruction weapons were found in Iraq (Tumber, 111).

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