The Media Spin and How the Media Impacts the Opinions of People - Essay Example

The Media Spin The past two decades have transformed the way that Americans receive their daily news. No longer are people merely receiving their information from newspapers, television, and magazines. Now, these mediums must contend with the all powerful internet, which is the veritable wild west of information. Additionally, more and more people appear to be returning to talk radio for their news as well. Part of the reason for this shift in how people are getting their news is because of the accessibility of these sources. However, another big reason is that internet and radio provides the opportunity for people to escape the unspoken liberal bias that exists in traditional media. Those who have made the change are aware of this bias and do not want to be influenced by it, especially if they are not of the same opinion. It appears to be an undeniable fact that the media has the power to influence people’s opinions, which can severely impact social and political climates; therefore, it is extremely important that the average person develop the ability to judge the quality of their news sources. First and foremost, it is vital that people understand precisely how the media impacts their opinions. According to the article entitled “How the Media Portray Issues,” author Scott London tells his audience that they must pay greater attention to how their news is framed. “A frame is the central organizing idea for making sense of relevant events and suggesting what is at issue…To identify frames, the informational content of news reports is less important than the interpretive commentary that attends it”(London). In essence, London is saying that the news itself does not matter, but it is how the news is presented to the audience that is very important to be aware of as it is the media’s “interpretation” of the news which can influence the public’s opinions. Since a lot of the traditional media sources are interpreted from a liberal perspective, that means that the media might not report certain aspects of a piece of news if it does not fall in line with or hurts their own opinion/interpretation of it. This type of thinking shows a lack of objectivity. According to London, “Objectivity has been the ruling principle in American journalism for the better part of the 20th century”(London). However, London believes that objectivity does not really exist in today’s world: “objectivity became a standard in journalism "precisely when the impossibility of overcoming subjectivity in presenting the news was widely accepted and ... precisely because subjectivity had come to be regarded as inevitable."”(London). The same bias and lack of objectivity occurs in more modern versions of media as well such as articles and news websites on the internet. A prime example of the media reporting on some things, but not on others currently is the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The traditional news is providing bare minimum coverage on the crimes—rape, violence, robberies, etc.—that are occurring within this movement. This is likely because the liberal media favors the Occupy Wall Street Movement and does not want to present this ongoing event in a negative light. On the other hand, the media will report and push stories that shows the opposition in a less than positive light. Perhaps a prime example of this would be the media coverage of the Republican primaries. Every single time a Republican nominee makes a mistake or a skeleton is found in their closet, the inherently liberal media jumps on the story in order to bias the public against that particular person. This particular bias that is being passed onto the public is the reason why I have chosen to have a more balanced news diet. While I do watch television news programs like World News With Diane Sawyer and NBC Nightly News, I have added talk radio programs such as the Glenn Beck Program and The Sean Hannity Show to my repertoire as well, so as to make sure that I am receiving a more complete picture when it comes to the news. However, it is important to note that these conservative programs have their own biases and prejudices as well. This is why I make it a point to listen to both sides, so as to be able to form my own opinions with as much information available to me as possible. It is important to point out that people are more easily influenced or persuaded by the media when the news is centered on a highly charged subject where distinct division exists. Examples of this type of subject matter include religion and politics; however, what might be a highly charged issue to one person may not be to another. The extent of the media’s influence on a person’s beliefs or opinions is heavily illustrated in the article entitled “Television News and Citizens’ Explanations of National Affairs.” The author of this study, Shanto Iyengar, states “Because citizens must depend primarily upon the media for information about the political world…the evidence…indicates that…the manner in which television news frames national issues, individuals ‘ explanations of these issues are altered”(Iyengar, 816). Iyengar, using this basic hypothesis, then went on to conduct several studies which showed that people tended to be more influenced by a biased media report depending on their own backgrounds(Iyengar, 828-829). For example, if a person has experienced poverty or homelessness within their own lives, and the person watched a news report that contained bias against those who are poverty stricken, this person would likely have a more noticeable reaction to the report than someone without that background(Iyengar, 828-829). Even with varying levels of education and backgrounds, the average American does not know how to distinguish between high quality and low quality media. Often, a person will decide a visual news source is high quality because the host of the program is a highly skilled speaker, charismatic, good looking and a smart dresser. Since so much of social interaction and perception of others is based on the outward appearance, it is natural for the average person to deem a particular source to be high quality because of this. For a written source, most people will judge it to be of high or low quality depending on the educational and occupational background of the writer. If the writer has a college degree, attended a prestigious school, or worked for a powerful/ highly respected company, their work will be seen as more trustworthy and of a higher quality. Although understandable, judging sources by criteria such as this is a mistake. London details exactly which areas a viewer should look at in order to judge the quality of it. He states: “In sum, journalists may take us seriously as news consumers but generally ignore our wider role as citizens. As a rule, they do not encourage communication, strengthen the public dialogue, or facilitate the formulation of common decisions”(London). Therefore, as a viewer, in order to judge the source from which they draw information, they must ask themselves if their sources “encourage communication, strengthen(s) public dialogue, or facilitate(s) the formulation of common decisions”(London). If their sources do each of these things, then they may be judged as high quality. If they do not, the sources must be regarded as low quality. Most media would likely fit into the low quality category if they are judged by London’s criteria. There is little doubt that the bias or spin consistently placed on the information the media presents to the public can have significant ramifications, especially when it comes to social and political issues. According to a transcript of a conversation between Bill Moyers, I.F. Stone, Jeremy Stone, Amy Goodman, and Glenn Greenwald—all of whom are considered media insiders or media experts—Goodman discusses her view on the media’s role: I think the way the media works is they show the spectrum of opinion between the Democrats and the Republicans in Washington. Often that is very narrow. And its our role in the media not just to bring you that spectrum, but to, well, provide — I see the media as a huge kitchen table that we all sit around and debate and discuss these critical issues. To open up. Thats what the American people want (“Bill Moyer’s Journal”). The problem that can be seen within this quote is that these people in the media do not seem to have any real awareness that they are presenting biased information to the public. If the media is not even aware or are perhaps in denial of the slant and spin they are putting on stories and reports, the general public is not going to become aware of the bias and, in turn, will not learn to fight against it. Basically, a majority of the public is unknowingly soaking in low quality, extremely biased information, which is slowly influencing their thoughts and opinions, depending on the amount of exposure they have to it. Ultimately, the media is able to influence the population’s opinions to the point that they are impacting political elections, the stance a person takes on social issues and the everyday values that a person holds dear. This indicates that, in many respects, the media has enough power and influence over people that the entire future of America can be impacted by what they report, and how they report it. The format of the media has indeed changed a lot in the past few decades. However, the power and influence of many popular news sources remains the same and in some cases, has grown even stronger. This is why it is important that people balance their news with both liberal and conservative sources just as they would balance the meat and vegetables on their dinner plates each night. Having this balance ensures that a person can more easily detect the inherent biases in every source, and it provides the person with a greater opportunity to form their own opinions once they have sifted through both sides of the story. In the end, this is the only way to make sure that the media remains in its rightful place with a limited amount of influence and power. Works Cited "Bill Moyers Journal." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. 3 Aug. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. . Iyengar, Shanto . "Television News and Citizens Explanations of National Affairs." The American Political Science Review 81.3 (1987): 815-832. JStor. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. London, Scott. "How the Media Frames Political Issues." Scott London. Kettering Foundation. Jan. 1993. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. . Read More