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Essay on mediation
Natural disaster impact on society
Natural disaster impact on society
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The Media Disaster
A study by the University of Maryland indicated a third of Fox News’ audience believed Iraq participated in the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center despite military and diplomatic proof they did not. This belief, accompanied by several other misunderstandings about the Iraq war, developed through negligent representation of world events by the news (Marcovitz). Sometimes, the news doesn’t do what it is intended to do—accurately publicize information. Media has a tendency to focus less on the truth and more on a good story for high ratings. Obsessive coverage of certain pieces can lead to the neglect of other important issues, specifically, world tragedies—natural disasters and civic crises. Regarding our response to human adversity, the advent of social media has come with new advantages and new problems. Media’s coverage of worldly disasters is important to inform people and encourage help, but the wide variety of media available now must be used responsibly.
In February of 2005 the Red Cross reported victims of the Asian Tsunami received $500 per affected person. Meanwhile, relief efforts for Uganda’s eighteen year war achieved only fifty cents per affected person. How can people be so generous to one disaster and so cold to another? People are more likely to donate money to natural disasters because they are easier for us to digest. Humans don't want to believe there is war and evil, so they ignore it. Natural disasters have a cause and effect easily identified and understood. Because maintaining popular attention is difficult, complicated crises with “complex political and social origins” are less likely to receive media attention and communal aid (Wheeler).
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Works Cited
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"Jake Wheeler: How Does Media Coverage Impact Disasters?" Blog post. Center for Disaster
Philanthropy. N.p., 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Marcovitz, Hal. Bias in the Media. Detroit: Lucent, 2010. 54. Print.
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Romano, Andrew. "Why the Media Ignored the Nashville Flood." Newsweek. N.p., 6 May 2010.
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When the US initiated the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it gave the justification that the Iraqi dictator, Saddam aided the perpetrators of the September 11 attack on United States soil. The Bush administration also accused Saddam of engineering a nuclear program and amassing destructive weapons. All the US justification and the entire war have been highly criticized on many fronts. The media has taken the lead on shaping public opinion on both sides of the war, that is, the US or rather North America and the Middle East. It is a fact that citizens get to understand an issue such as the Iraq war through the perspective of the media (Al-Rawi, 2013). This paper focuses on the media, its portrayal of the war and the effect of its perspective.
Media Coverage on Hurricane Katrina News of the devastating hurricane Katrina and its economic, political, social, and humanitarian consequences dominated global headlines in an unprecedented manner when this natural catastrophe struck the region of New Orleans in mid August 2005 (Katrinacoverage.com). As a tradition, large-scale disasters like Katrina, inevitably, bring out a combination of the best and the worst news media instincts. As such, during the height of Hurricane Katrina’s rage, many journalists for once seized their gag reflex and refused to swallow shallow and misleading excuses and explanations from public officials. Nevertheless, the media’s eagerness to report thinly substantiated rumors may have played a key role in bringing about cultural wreckage that may take the American society years to clean up. To begin with, anybody privy to the events in New Orleans that ensued after Hurricane Katrina struck knows that horrible things that had nothing to do with natural causes happened: there were murders, gunfire directed at a rescue helicopter, assaults and, courtesy of New Orleans’ city police department, a myriad other crimes that most probably went unreported (Katrinacoverage.com).
A good part of Outfoxed focuses on the company's blurring of news and commentary, how anchormen and reporters are encouraged to repeatedly use catch-phrases like "some people say..." as a means of editorializing within a supposedly objective news story; how graphics, speculation and false information are repeated over-and-over throughout the broadcast day until it appears to become fact, and in doing so spreads like a virus and copied on other networks. A PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll points to glaring, fundamental misconceptions about the news perpetuated upon Fox viewers, versus information received from widely respected news-gathering organizations like NPR and PBS. Asked, for instance, "Has the U.S. found links between Iraq & al-Qaeda?" only 16% of PBS and NPR viewers answered "yes," but a frightening 67% of Fox viewers believed there had.
The article, written by Bernard Goldberg, begins by talking about how television is most often used as a diversion from reality. It is then discussed that television can become more than a diversion, such as in times of war, terror, or tragedy. Goldberg focuses on examples such as the Oklahoma City bombings as well as 9/11. It is then proclaimed that on days such as these, we all turn to our televisions, whether it be Peter Jennings addressing the nation about the attack on our freedoms, or the story of Timothy Mcveigh blowing up a federal building. Goldberg then questions the process of connecting the dots in times such as these. A path is created through the statements of several television reports, resulting in the vastly believed connection that conservatism leads to anti-government rhetoric which causes Timothy Mcveigh to bomb the building. The argument is made that the media uses many categories to connect the dots that align with their agenda. Such examples include race, religion, sex, age, and politics. Lastly, Goldberg calls all television networks to report evenly so that the American citizens can connect the dots free from outside influence.
For many, it is commonplace to criticize media’s methodology in one way or another. In fact, it may be necessary to keep major news companies honest and partial about the information they provide to millions. This is especially so in a climate where, for example, a police and civilian shooting may incite riots and outrage across large cities. Should incorrect information be published, there may be substantial consequences in response to something false. Rebecca Solnit argues in her piece, When Media Is the Disaster, that the media’s tendency to treat property as more valuable than human life depicts victims of natural disasters as criminals, rather than survivors.
“The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that is power because they control the minds of the masses.” (Malcolm X). One of the most controversial matters that was on local and international TV news, radio stations, newspapers, magazines and social media sites is the Boston Marathon Bombings which occurred in April 15th last year. There were many opinions about who committed that massacre. Many media outlets were with the thought that the whole crime was staged on the other hand some of them were quick to point the finger at Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar . In this paper I have chosen to put the light on three of the famous media resources which are: the Boston Fox 25 News TV, CNN TV and Press TV (Iranian).
One fateful afternoon in 2011, David Daigle, Associate Communication Director, at the Center for Disease Control (CDC), purchased eighty-seven dollars worth of zombie related stock photography – convinced that this would be the key to engaging a young and media savvy audience in a conversation about disaster preparedness. Daigle concluded – based on his personal affinity to zombie culture – that there are a similarities to the items one would need in a disaster kit and to those necessary to survive a zombie attack and that this unique connection would be relevant to a zombie crazed society.
It is of my judgment that broadcasting stations are fixated on the words, "breaking news." It seems today that any circumstance holds as current breaking news as highlighted by Psychology Today. "News programming uses a hierarchy if it bleeds, it leads. Fear-based news programming has two aims. The first is to grab the viewer's attention. In the news media, this is called the teaser. The second aim is to persuade the viewer that the solution for reducing the identified worry will be in the news story" (If It Bleeds, It Leads: Understanding Fear-Based Media, par. 1, 2011). Our emotions guide us through our anxieties and most of the time, things seem worse than they actually are. All the discussion regarding Mexicans are taking our jobs (PBS NewsHour, 20:48-20:54, 2015), and North Korea missiles heading for the Pacific border of America etc., are all heightened by the kind of media we consume. The intention of news is to inform us of what's occurring around us and possibly suggest solutions to how to cope or resolve them. However, the real question that should be asked of ourselves is, is it sensationalized or real news and does it seek to benefit or instill fear in its audience? Editor of the Atlantic, Molly Ball uses news outlet, The Guardian, in agreement and opens up about how the media is like a cloak of protection for Americans. When the anxiety is high, people crave protection (Ball, par. 9, 2016), therefore concise reasoning is almost
On September 11, 2011 people all over the world were able to witness one of the greatest tragedies in American history, but this time by way of live news coverage streaming on the television. Media for decades now has served, in various forms, as a way for people to stay connected to things that our happening locally and nationally in the world. Throughout the day many Americans turn to one or more different forms of media, whether it may be on television or on an electronic device to indulge in the daily news, either locally or nationally. According to PawResearch Center (2010), Americans are spending more time with the news than over much of the past decade due to the advancement of technology. The news serves as the source of information and from
Being able to thoroughly analyze the content of any media empowers the public, giving them their own opinion. Modern media has a sly way of brainwashing its audience, whether it’s convincing you that the war on terror is a defense for the United States, or that being a socialist means wanting the destruction of the current government. Interestingly enough, this brainwashing mechanism has been used for ages, increasing in complexity and deception by the minute. The ignorance of the
The year is 2006,watching TV, you flip through the various news stations to learn about the recent news in Iraq, the majority of the news simply says that ‘x’ amount of soldiers or marines were killed in such and such attack. You don’t like what you are hearing so you go online to read an independent embedded (embedded refers to news reporters who are attached to military units) reporters story. Online you read that two new schools were built, and the Iraqis, supported by US forces, led an attack to capture an insurgent leader. The big media corporations such as FOX, NBC, CNN, and many others distort the facts that are on the ground. Small, mostly independent, reporters generally try to get a first-hand account of the situation on the ground.
Myers, Pamela E. Oliver & Daniel J. 1999. How Events Enterthe Public Sphere: Conflict, Location, and Sponsorship in Local Newspaper Coverage of Public Event. Illinois : The Universityu of Chicago, 1999.
Social media sites including Twitter and Facebook are in their infancy yet play an increasingly important role in the response to a disaster. After all, “one of the basic tenants of emergency management is mass communication and being able to deliver pertinent information to those who need it” (Gould, 2012). Social media offers an avenue to obtain up to the minute information on a given situation right in an individual's hands thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices. “Each disaster sparks its own complex web of fast-paced information exchange. It can both improve disaster response and allow affected populations to take control of their situation as well as feel empowered” (Maron, 2013). While traditional forms of media, print, radio and television in particular, have been the standard since the inception of the emerg...
Before modern mass media was at hand, giant news events could not be made known to the public until long after they occurred. The media has always made disasters and wars the large news stories. These have always been the prime news events for the last few decades. And with the development of television and other technologies the ability to show the public what is going on became easier and easier. Now that mass media was available the public could almost immediately view or read about disasters and wars. Average Americans could now sit in their living rooms and watch what was happening in the Vietnam War. They witnessed the explosion of the space shuttle challenger. They saw the scared teenagers run from Columbine. Perhaps the most stunning of all the events that mass media brought into our homes was the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City. Mass media has grown so much in such a short period of time and society is having trouble dealing with it. Some question if the public needs to see such terrible things on television. Some wonder if the media truthfully portray the events. Media today is so large and it conceivably could be damaging to our society. If we take a look at past events, and the recent September 11th tragedy, we can critique the media's handling of them. To become more media literate we need to understand how events such as disasters and war have been handled in the past.
Researchers have noticed for as long as the media system dependency theory has been studied that, what people hear, see, and read inflicts an experience on the consumer. It affects their thoughts about the information they have just taken in and allows for judgments to be formed as well as a relationship to the media source itself (Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993). We have decided on a qualitative design that will allow us to understand more in depth implications media places on society when devastation hits a country. As a group of researchers we are going to base our research off the exploratory descriptive research. This will allow us to pick and choose which we feel is the best way to attain information we need from media consumers about the event...