Politics, Power, and the American Media

Politics, Power, and the American Media

As Americans, we believe that world events over the next few years will unfold from September 11th. The safety and security that we all felt before will never be the same. While Americans continue to recover our enemies continue to plan a way to bring us to our knees once again. Many of us will never again be able to fly without a fear of what if and many of us will never again be able to turn on the morning news without the fear of what if. We tend to have the attitude that terrorist attacks are events that happen in other countries like Israel where peace is unsteady. Many of us never dreamed of having it in our own front yard and to compound those affects by seeing parts of the world celebrating at the sight of a super power falling to its knees.

While the attacks themselves are a focal point for many scholars, I will focus not on the attacks, but rather I will ask questions as to why the attacks happened and why it hurt so much to see others smile happily at the sight of our pain. Americans are shocked to see that others would ever wish us pain. Much of this is taught to us at an early age, that everyone wants to be American and that the “American Dream” is the only way to live a full and happy life.

What role does the media play in continuing this naiveté of American society and how does the media in other countries account for our pain? How does our super power mentality play in this picture and why do many citizens of the world feel ill will towards Americans? I will address these questions by reviewing foreign newscasts and magazine articles, interviewing international politics experts, and finally interviewing an expert in American foreign policy. As citizens in a democracy we deserve the truth. The truth about how our government treats citizens of other countries and other accounts of how bad U.S. Foreign Policy creates negative feelings towards American citizens themselves.

To understand how the American media plays into a bigger picture of the foreign media it is important to understand how they both operate. In The Politics of Illusions by Lance Bennett he writes about notable media differences. Lance writes:

A fascinating example of how these work routines affect news content was discovered by Timothy Cook in a study of Gulf crisis coverage in the United States and France. Immediately following the ...

... middle of paper ...

...

• Li, Chi-Dooh. “Why Do They a.) Hate, b.) Fear, c.) Envy, d.) Resent US?” Seattle Post-Intelligencer 21 Oct. 2001 http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1021-12.htm

• Moises, Naim. “Why the World Loves to Hate America” Foreign Policy Magazine December 2001 http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagemane=View&c=Article&cid=FT3FIPEYWUC&live=true

• Rogge, Malcolm. “Rule of Force v. Rule of Law: The Global Lock-down on Civil Liberties.” Canadian Dimension Magazine December 2001: 60-66.

• Schlesinger, Stephen. Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. New York: Anchor Books, 1990.

• Williams, Patricia. “This Dangerous Patriot’s Game.” Observer of London 2 Dec. 2001

• The World is Watching. Director Peter Raymont. With Elizabeth Gray. First Run / Incarus Films, 1988.

• Zapp, Kenneth. “The Naiveté in Asking ‘Why Do They Hate Us So Much?’”

• Minneapolis Star Tribune 13 Oct. 2001 http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1013-01.htm