Analysis of American Media - Essay Example

American Media In May 2001, Mark Hertsgaard journeyed through fifteen countries for six whole months to interview people from all walks of life on just one topic": the United States of America. He compiled all the anecdotes from his travels to write the controversial book called The Eagle's Shadow: Why America fascinates and infuriates the world In which he illustrates a perception he finds to be all pervasive around the world. The book is a recorded impression of the ordinary citizens of the world's views on America, its admiration of its wealth and glamour, its blatant disapproval of its selfishness and gluttony, the ruling government it condemns, the ignorance of other countries and cultures that is scorned and a leadership that is vastly met with objection and sometimes fears. It is a sincere and honest self-examination of the foreign and domestic policies of America. Amidst the widespread patriotic hysteria and solidarity reawakening post the September 11th, the author braves to tackle the Sovietization of American politics and media, which seek to slander dissent or disagreement of any kind. He brings the present administration under scrutiny as well as exposing the hypocrisy of the so-called "liberal" American press. In his book, the foreigners have complained about the American's domination of a world which is poorly understood by them and who "sanctimoniously boast of democratic virtues while ignoring our complicity in the crimes of authoritarian regimes, and destroy other countries' deep-rooted cultural traditions by exporting our crass culture of self-indulgence and haste."(Bryce Christenson, American Library Association) While feelings of American patriotism and nationalism is at an all time high,Hertgaard brings the reader to the task of self-examining the truth behind those very sentiments. But his weakness lies in the manner he addresses his readers in a tone which is a bit too superior even while elaborating the perceptions of the rest of the world. America's foreign policy has been put up for questioning in his book where he writes: "Americans need to have an honest discussion about our conduct overseas: Where it is wise Where it is not How often does it correspond to the values of democracy and freedom that we regularly invoke, and how important it is whether we practice what we preach If Americans want a healthy relationship with the six billion people we share the planet with, we need to understand who those people are, how they live, what they think and why. This is not charity, it is self-interest. America may be protected by two oceans and the mightiest military in history, but we know we are not untouchable." This statement has been taken further by Parag Khanna in his favor of open democracy where he states that America's independence can no longer depend on its security even if it's flanked by two oceans and neither can it count on its prosperity despite the country's production. The answers they were seeking were found in Washington in early October 2003, where a major program of public dialogue was launched by sixteen organizations, representing ideologies across the political spectrums. "The People Speak: America Debates Its Role in the World" is the name of this initiative which hosted numerous discussions on American foreign policies amongst communities across the nations. The four resolutions up for discussion which were: whether the US should use Pre-emptive military force to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction; what conditions should exist before the US takes part in military intervention overseas; whether America should focus more on non- military issues like the environment, poverty and health; whether America should demonstrate a stronger commitment to international institutions and international law It was also found that in the Islamic world, the image of America had drastically fallen over the past couple of years with only 15% of respondents giving favorable opinions on the United States, right from Turkey to Indonesia, which had largely to do with the war in Iraq further triggering hostility and increased anger. "Globalization is in fact largely Americanization" (p, 18.) is his argument. He calls it a democracy which barely deserves the name, with a government that preaches sermons on how to run elections but fails to look at its own growing number of citizens who don't vote at all. He condemns American foreign policy which says it stands for freedom but in reality supports dictatorships and overthrows real democracies. "Left wing "is the real meaning of a "liberal" press in America no matter what they say about its antiestablishment, anticorporate and antigovernment measures. They only report the government's side of the story and the outcome is mostly misleading. It supports the prevailing political system, its power relations and the foreign and economic policies that manifests from them, which are hardly liberal. Most people, foreigners and Americans alike don't take to the idea of a state-friendly press in the United States. The very first amendment of the Bill of Rights has the freedom of press incorporated in it. But it only exists in theory and not in practice. It is subject to who is in power regardless of the party being Republican or Democratic. Even the most important of matters don't receive enough attention if it isn't backed by Washington. The Washington press corps is more concerned with the White House politics than anything else. Thought that kind of information is also important, it fails to give the people an accountable government. In this way the press goes contrary to the kind envisioned by the founding fathers of the nation, also portraying a dumb and incompetent lot of journalists and reporters. "The American news media have degenerated over the past quarter century into a profit-obsessed colossus, a peddler of pseudo-news that at once entrances and demeans the public." (P.99) Hertgaard blames the deterioration of the American media to the election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 because he deregulated the business in terms of free enterprise. The relaxation of federal rules which were originally intended to account for public interests in the utilization of the nation's air waves was another reason for the failing of the American media. Broadcast licenses were made almost automatic by him in the sense that companies did not have to earn it by providing news and public affairs programming. He even extended the ownership limits. For instance according to federal law, a company could only own seven of television stations , FM radio stations and AM radio stations but Reagan expanded this to the limit of twelve each. This served to be a boon to broadcast corporations which brought revenue of billions of dollars over the coming years. On the other hand, Michael Walzer (Company of Critics,2002) has most effectively said that the most beneficial form of social criticism links with its targets own proclaimed values, bringing our attention to the breach between ideals and practice, and looking for ways to close that same gap. The mind of the anti-American has something else cooking too. To criticize the functions of the media or the government and yet be "pro-American" at the same time is also conceivable. Anti-Americanism critics have further gone on to show that the whole scenario is the product of many factors but mainly two in particular. First being, that they look at anti-Americanism as a kind of religion for those people who despise religion. These are the people who have turned against the United States without ever articulating a reasonable ideological project since they cannot defend the Soviet Union any longer. Secondly, it is an easy outlet to vent internal problems especially for the rest of the world other than the United States. But in terms of the American news media, it has been virtually taken over by corporations since the past twenty years. This includes large media houses like the National Public Radio and The Public Broadcasting System which reaches mass audiences. Right -wing politicians have been successfully de-funding them since the 1980 election of Reagan, which eventually forced them to turn to corporate funding and produce programs in order to please them. It is these giant, colossal corporations that have been dominating the American economy and the government. Americans are now subject to the worst of both worlds; a puppet string press and the kind which encourages people to believe the pseudo news. For example, the press decided to give a miss to the news of Osama Bin Laden's proposed attack on the United States. They conveniently chose not to run the story. What Hergaard wants to conclude is that the American media should not involuntarily jump at opposing the government policies but they should broaden their "ideological perspectives so that all meaningful points of view are covered".(P.108)Even the Afghanistan was criticized only of its tactics but not the whole logic behind it. Washington was divided over how to conduct the war and the press flew into action with the ventilations of these divisions at great lengths. The press never bothered to examine the justification of the war, the cause and effect of September 11 on foreign policies and other relevant options. Parrot reporting by the American press is the main reason behind the ignorance of the American people in regard with other countries and their cultures. The coverage should be less superficial and jingoistic of foreign affairs, reporting facts rather than what tends to incline towards fiction. This should explain the hostility that meets the very mention of the name America in the foreign countries for such a press enables America to view the rest of the world as unintelligible stereotypes. They should learn to see that they are also "human beings with the same kinds of faults, virtues and frailties that we have". (P.108) These countries want globalization more than the Americans do; they want better relations with the US government but are basically turned off by the superior high-handedness of Washington in these matters; factors which can only be explained to the American people with better reporting than anything else. If journalism improves and the imparting of information to the country is taken up as a more responsible measure, it is a crucial step at improving and developing international relationships and foreign policies. Another vital topic discussed by Hertgaard in this book is the economic inequality of America which is said to be at par with that of the Great Depression. But what really is the issue is that it is no issue at all. People do not acknowledge it nor do they respond to it. In other countries like Japan or say Europe, even the most negligible increases in economic inequality is promptly reported, receives extensive media coverage which further enables politicians and other prominent leaders to hold discussions to stop the eminent dangers that are lurking. Whereas in America, the issue is not addressed at all and the "the elites who dominate America's political, economic, and media systems carry on as if all is well, which it is for them." (P.148) This has led to the shrinking of the middle class in America, only widening the ever increasing opening between the very rich and the very poor. The author looks at a revolution being the only answer to solve the prevailing evils in the Unite States but not of violence .he wants people to change their values and ways of thinking.In the very mould of where they came from and what the nation stands for in the first place; freedom and fairness and the notion that all citizens can come together as equals to govern themselves. Baby steps might help but what can and will come as an even better approach would be to change the way the media in America operates. They should do a better job of educating the people and informing them about what is actually happening in the world around and the country's role in it. The radical idea that was conceived in 1776 by the fathers of the nation is still worth fighting for .But it can be achieved even if "it will be an uphill struggle to reclaim our democracy". (P.123) References Bawer, B.Hating America.Hudsonreview.com Christenson, B. Article. American Library Association Hertsgaard, M.2002, The Eagle's Shadow: Why America fascinates and infuriates the world, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hollander, P. 1995, Anti-Americanism: Irrational and Rational, Transaction Books, New York. Walzer, M. 2002, The Company of Critics, Basic Books, New York. Read More