Here in America, we try to pay close attention to everything that goes on in the government. Whatever decision they make we want to know when, where, why, and how. This is because whatever decision that they make will determine what will happen with this country as a whole in the long run. So what is the best way to find out what’s going on with our government? Why the media of course. The media plays a major part in every aspect of the government including what happens in elections, the reporting of major military operations and how the American people will react to certain political situations or scandals. Here are some the ways that the media affects the way we think when it comes to the government.
The Right to Laugh: Media Satire and its Role in Politics.
In times of political and world turmoil such as the ones we live in today, one may find it impossible to turn on a television or open a newspaper without finding some work that aims to criticize or express opinion about the state of things. Straight ahead and well written essays and reports and serious discussions are always important and the most common method for challenging the status quo. However, in our media saturated world, satires and political comedy are also a valid and potent weapon. Throughout the history of the 20th century and continuing stronger than ever today, political humor and satire has played a significant role in how we as a society perceive, judge, and run our government.
True satire is meant to firstly challenge an idea or thought construct and in effect evoke change, all the while making its audience find humor in the idea it challenges. Television programs such as Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Dennis Miller Live, Comedy Central’s...
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...ws.mpr.org/features/2003/03/26_losurem_arabtv
Hale, E. Arab Media Focus on Another Side of the Conflict. USA Today. Retrieved March 26, 2003, from the World Wide Web: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-30-arab-media_x.htm
Audiences fragmented and skeptical: The tough job of communicating with voters (February 5, 2000). The Pew Research Center for People and the Press. Interest Index, Final Topline, January 12-16, 2000.
Milbank, D. (October 18, 2000). Tracking Laughs is no Joke in Election Year. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2003, from the World Wide Web: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36109-2000Oct18Found=true
Moore fires Oscar anti-war salvo (March 24, 2003) The BBC Online Journal. Retrieved March 27 from the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2879857.stm
The Southern Methodist University football scandal, also known as Ponygate, was one of the most severe consequences that the NCAA has ever given out to a college or university. In this instance, the Southern Methodist University football program was found to be illegally paying their players after already being in trouble with the NCAA several times. The first time this football program had been caught by the NCAA for not following its rules was in 1985. This was when an incident regarding offensive lineman Sean Stopperich came up. Prior to transferring schools after going through an injury which made him unable to play, he was paid $5,000 by one of the Southern Methodist Universities booster programs to attend the school and play football there. This caused “the NCAA to place SMU on three years of probation in 1985, limit its postseason appearances, ban the boosters involved and strip the football program of 45 scholarships.” This did not show the program or the school a lesson though. Again in 1986 the Southern Methodist University football program was found breaking NCAA rules. This was their seventh time they had broken and been caught breaking NCAA rules. This time it was found that, “an unnamed booster had been found to have paid 13 Mustang players $61,000 from a slush fund with the approval of key members of the SMU athletic staff.” The result of this complication with NCAA rules is what became known as the, “death penalty”. This death penalty declared that there were to be, “no football in '87. only seven games in '88. no television or bowl appearances until 1989 and restrictions on off-campus recruiting and the number of assistant coaches until 1989 SMU which signed no high school players to letters of intent this winter...
Humor is not traditionally thought of as a necessity in media; however, humor is an excellent vehicle for bringing to attention problems or changes that need to be made in society. In Alain de Botton’s 2004 book, Status Anxiety, he correctly argues that humorists, the messengers of news that might be too dangerous to say directly, play a vital role in society. Humor’s role in society has shown its importance in delivering messages to society through satirical writings, stand up comists and hosts of television programs.
John Marwood Cleese, an English actor, comedian, writer and film producer said, “If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth”. The point he brings up is the ideology of satire. Satire, by definition, is a technique utilized by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society. This can be done by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule ("Satire - Definition and Examples", para.1). Often times, the humor used opens the audiences’ minds to the underlying problem that the writer is trying to reveal. By examining the purpose and methods of satire, dissecting literary works, and displaying examples in the media, satire is shown to be a valuable tool.
The satirical humor expresses the social criticism on issues about politics. “Satire features a heightened sense of irony, highlighting contradictions, inconsistencies, absurdities, mining them for their humor, and even highlighting flaws and fakeries to people (Day 256).” Satirical humor involved media about politics so it can gain the audience's attention.The satirical humor reveals everything about the hypocrisy and foolishness of
...ners they continued to fight. As more and more African American students were admitted into white Southern schools, segregationist continued to retaliate and defend their schools against them. No matter how difficult the situation turned out for some of them, and without much help from the government, African Americans did everything they possibly could to protect their educational rights for the sake of their future and success, and in the hope of promoting equality for all African American people of the United States. These students became the symbol of freedom and opened up the window of opportunity for all black people, for their ancestors, and for the future generations to come.
Currently, the office of the United States Presidency is one of the most powerful positions in the world. The President has the power to influence Congress, the nation and the free world. However, the US Media, which is also the freest and most powerful press, has had control over the presidency. The advent of CNN, ABC, NBC and others has had the effect of being able to sway the population of the United States, either garnering support for a president or destroying his credibility. The media has permitted the spread of information, allowing the people to take a more active role in politics making the general will better known, but it has also made politicians and the public hostage to the ideas and opinions of reporters, who are often only after a gripping story and a large profit. The media has the power to sway the American public by reporting favorably or with disfavor on a candidate, thus making a presidential candidate the prisoner of entertainment companies. Thus it could be said that the American people lose their ability to truly know a candidate because of the media. Instead they vote according to what they are told by major publications rather than what they believe. In this paper, I will explore whether the Media is a valuable resource or a does it have an undue influence over the President and the American public?
Policymaking is a political process which is affected by various social and economic factors (Hofferbert, 1974) and media systems play an integral role in shaping the social context in which policies are developed. Through the media, citizens learn how government policies will affect them, and governments gain feedback on their policies and programs. Media systems act as the primary channels between those who might want to influence policy and the policymakers '' controlling the scope of political discourse and regulating the flow of information. Textbook policymaking follows an orderly sequence where problems are identified, solutions devised, policies adopted, implemented, and lastly evaluated (Mazamanian & Sabatier, 1989). In reality, the policy process is more fluid, where policies are formed through the struggle of ideas of various advocacy coalitions (Sabatier, 1991) in what has been described as a policy primeval soup (Kingdon, 1995). The policies, on which the media focuses can, and often does, play an important part in determining the focal issues for policymakers.
Comedy is an essential part of most people's lives and impacts everyone more than they realize. It has the ability to make one think, laugh, and ultimately change themselves into a more highly educated person. In today’s society, people have a lack of trust in political leaders and news writers; many believe there is crucial information being withheld from the world. Many members of society obtain their real world news from their brutally honest, and trusted humorists. As actor and comedian John Fugelsang accurately said, “comedians can articulate complicated emotions and arguments by using jokes as a framing mechanism, when just existing in the heart unexamined can be murky and amorphous.” He continues by explaining how “humour can be a social corrective” because it “validates shared experiences, gets us to think more flexibly and reframe situations in this shared experience we call life.” Whether it be a late night television host, a cartoonists or satirical writer, they all reveal the truth that others are afraid to directly
Willer, R, Youngreen, R, Troyer, L & Lovaglia, M.J 2012, ‘How Do the Powerful Attain Status? The Roots of Legitimate Power Inequalities’, Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 355-367
The main aim of this report is to analyze the impacts of changes in the media concerning the societal and individual view of politics and politicians. The report also describes significant milestones in mass media since the year 1960 and examines the impact of mass media on how people think politically. The report then considers the effect of technological advancements in mass media and the effect on the results of elections. The use of mass media has increased over the last fifty years in that it is a primary medium through which supporters of various campaigners share their ideas and views concerning politicians and different political parties. Through social media, behaviors and performance of several activists have brought
Gambling is an addiction that draws the attention of many individuals. Gambling offers individuals the idea that if they put more money down, they will win more money. This is a continuous cycle which never fails to stop but can be extremely detrimental to an individual and their families socially, financially and mentally. Gambling problems develop and worsen over time, similar to alcohol and other drugs. According to Dunstan (1997), there are five stages of gambling. The stages of gambling range from mild to severe, which can be a threat to both the gambler and their family. The five stages of gambling are non-gamblers, casual/social gamblers, at risk gamblers, problem gamblers and pathological gamblers. Depending on the individual and how mild or severe their p...
...stions are only the beginning of the process that may lead to world peace. After all people are seen equal maybe there will be a chance for a Global Peace that will endure.
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which we choose our leaders. There was once a time when the government used the media as a medium to influence voters, committees, communities etc. Recently, it has been the presidents of major media outlets that have not only exercised power over the public but also made their presences felt in government and in the halls of congress. When the word democracy is thrown about it usually has to do with the rights or original intentions for a group or organization. The first group intended to be influenced by the media was the informed voter. Political parties along with the government used a variety of media resources to persuade the voter or in effect receive a vote for their cause. Returning to the thought of ?democracy? the question is, what was the original intention of the media with relation to the theme of democracy and the informed voter? To analyze this thought thoroughly one must first grasp an understanding of the basic definition of democracy.
Robbins, S, DeCenzo, D, Coulter, M, Woods, M 2011, Management the essentials, Pearson Education, New South Wales.
In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. As long as the newspapers, internet, network television, etc, continued to be easily accessible to the public, the media will continue to have an influence in shaping its opinions. Factors such as agenda-setting, framing and priming help shape the public opinions. Agenda-setting is when the media focuses their attention on selected issues on which the public will form opinion on, whereas framing allows the media to select certain aspects about the problem and then make them appear more salient. Similarly, priming works by repeatedly exposing certain issues to public. As the issues get more exposure, the individual will be more likely to recall or retain the information in their minds. This paper will discuss these three factors played out systemically by media and how our opinions are constantly being influence and shape by them.