The Anchorperson and Bad News

1156 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mass media influences on elections

The Anchorperson and Bad News

Government policy and public opinion work on a two way street. Opinion reacts to policy; in turn, opinion shapes policy. Broadcast media speeds this game of table tennis to an even more personal and democratized level, often bypassing several filters as the information television provides streams into our living rooms. Print media lags and becomes increasingly visual - the bright colors and pictures of USA Today contrast the stark factual spreads of the Wall Street Journal. Television becomes an emotionally charged and urgent medium when the viewers can hear voice intonation and see facial features accompanying by the minute at the scene events. The figures at the fore of these transmissions are the television newscasters, familiar names such as Jennings, Brokaw and Rather, persons who have held the public's trust for two, perhaps three generations of viewers.

I hope to explain the connection I see between television technology, public opinion, and foreign policy. I believe that technological factors such as television have disseminated more power to the masses in terms of the ability to receive information, but also has given power to those who relay it, namely anchor persons. I also take into account the role of the media in times of crisis, which is commonly to simply relay government information and policy instead of being a watchdog of it.

Briefly summarizing author Bethami Dobkin, in terms of terrorism, television media reinforces government frameworks and rhetoric, and conveys them in a fast, but at the same time intensely personal way. The results increased popularity rating for Presidents. "The public has rewarded those presidents who have taken action and have seized center stage...

... middle of paper ...

...rmation is national security. Obviously, journalists should not endanger lives to publish where the Navy SEALS will be landing.

Television technology and its representatives do play a crucial role in this recent terrorist event. In one sense, we are more informed about happenings, but we are forced to see it through an unchallenged framework; one that prescribes drastic actions that many people are reticent to fully commit to before further exploration is done. Simultaneously, many people are prepared to take action after seeing the immediacy and size of the matter firsthand on television.

Works Cited

O'Neill, Michael J. Terrorist Spectaculars: Should TV Coverage Be Curbed? New York: Prirority Press Publications, 1986.

Dobkin, Bethami A. Tales of Terror: Television News and the Construction of the Terrorist Threat. New York: Praegar Publishers, 1992.

Show More
Related

  • The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    terrorist acts of a more homegrown variety. Stern interviews American terrorists here in the United

    Read More

  • Suspense and Suspision in Episode 1 of Season 2 of the TV Show "24"

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    Media directs the thought processes of society. Daya Kishan Thussa says, “US popular culture… is steeped in Hollywood spectacles on war, battles and conflict, as evidenced by the international success of films about war, conflict, and battles between good and evil,” (p.265 reader). Hollywood –the media—portrays war as a conflict between good and evil, redefining war and conflict to be something that is black and white, with a sure winning side. The show 24, produced after 9/11, at the start of the War on Terror, represents a conflict between the good and the evil by paralleling the distrust and suspicion of the real world with the distrust and suspicion of the world in the show. By using elements such as windowing, zooming and panning into faces, dark lighting, and slow, eerie music, Season 2, Episode 1 of 24, creates an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust similar to post 9/11 United States that explains why officials tried to resolve conflicts even without all relevant information present.

    Read More

  • Media's Influence during World War II: A Perspective

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    People around the globe rely on the media to interpret the events that occur in the world. They get the latest information about national and global news from the radio, television, and newspapers that have correspondents waiting to tell the story. People also heavily rely on the media during times of crises like war, economic insecurity, or other global events that affects their lives. One of the most impactful times Americans depended on the media was during World War II, which illustrated the triumphs and defeats of the war and its impression it left during the post-war era. It was around this time, movie clips and radio shows geared its messages towards patriotic themes that persuaded Americans to support the war.

    Read More

  • Mad TV: The Impact of Televised Violence on America

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    McLeod, Michael. Does TV Kill?. Production of Oregon Public Broadcasting for "Frontline". Videorecording. PBS Video, 1997.

    Read More

  • Propaganda in American Media

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Television, more so than any other form of communication, has been the ultimate tool of the propaganda effort. It is the trustworthiest medium to give us the subjective validity of our beliefs which can not be proven physically. It is the ultimate source from which we get evidence about objective reality, motivated by our desires to form an accurate view of this reality and to act correctly. United States is the biggest economical power in the world today, and consequently has the largest media and news industry. The gatekeepers of the American news industry control all the information, and decide what to publish or broadcast, based on the ideology and the structure of the institution. Therefore, whatever is presented in the news would probably be a part of the popular culture (created by the entertainment industry) or would serve it since the popular culture itself is created for the growth of the capitalist economy and the homogenization of the society, which are essential elements for a stable system. That is why the American media is terribly bias in many respects, especially in the matters of foreign affairs, driven by self b...

    Read More

  • Welfare and Government Assistance Policy Recommendations

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have concluded that there are five major problems within our American government assistance system. One, the welfare system is too generous. There is evidence of this within the article because it states that government assistance spending has more than doubled since 2008. It also states that in poor countries people only have the choice to work or starve. They choose to work long hours and we choose to not work and receive benefits. There is definitely a problem with our assistance system if a single mother could receive more money in benefits than a secretary who works. Two, the welfare system becomes a crutch and acts as a government safety net. It creates idleness and comfort with people who rather receive a generous amount of benefits than work. Three, one-third of people claim disability are actually able to work. Four, states have significantly differen...

    Read More

  • Social Welfare: America Needs a Solution

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    A single divorcee’ mother of two is working a minimum waged job that doesn’t pay life’s cost of survival. Not only does this mother have to take care of herself, she has children that need shelter, nourishment, and stability. In order for that to be possible, help is needed. Most people, majority is fathers, have too much pride to ask for help because of the image. Being on social welfare promotes the ego dropping image that one cannot provide for themselves or their family. But is image more important than the life itself? Children are dying of hunger or dehydration because their parents cannot afford decent meals or purified water. Children are dying from sickness because their parents cannot afford a home that protects them from the cold. Some of these parents are working forty hours a week or more for minimum wage and still cannot afford the necessities to live healthy. Some parents cannot find a job due to lack of qualification. The government has provided resources for people who are disadvantaged; however, there are still problems that need to be addressed. Social welfare isn’t a discouragement, it is a helping hand. There is no reason why lives should be shortened because of the inability to access governmental assistance. Social welfare benefits America as a whole because it serves as a crutch for the financially handicapped and provides motivation to work harder for a better lifestyle.

    Read More

  • By George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, And Robert L. Lineberry

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.

    Read More

  • Welfare: The Government's Failure

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States Government has pumped more than $3.5 trillion U.S. taxpayer dollars into welfare but, ironically, the poverty rate is higher than when they started (Tanner, Welfare Reform). This outrageous amount of money proves that welfare will lead United States into debt. The original intent of current welfare benefits has failed; therefore the national welfare system must be reformed. To fully understand how to reform the welfare system Americans must know what the history of welfare is, illegitimate births’ obvious connection to crime and welfare, how welfare has failed to keep the poverty rate down, the great problem of dependency, and finally what reforms must be made. Welfare reforms will greatly help this Nation become stronger and have a more secure future.

    Read More

  • A Feminist in Action in The Yellow Wallpaper

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen.  She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577).  These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage t...

    Read More

  • The Oppression of Women Exposed in The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... of roles as the "man," has fainted. A man that faints at the sight of something that he is unable to understand, something terrifying.

    Read More

  • Lieutenant Mudd In Catch 22

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Catch 22, Joseph Heller utilizes characters who appear very briefly, but have a significant impact on the meaning of the novel. Lieutenant Mudd, for example, is never physically heard from in the novel as a whole, yet his life and death affect every action that takes place. Most people don’t know Mudd’s real name because he is known as “The Dead Man in Yossarian’s Tent.” He died on on his first bomber mission from Pianosa to Orvieto, but because he never officially reported for duty, he wasn’t considered a member of the squadron, and nothing could be done with his belongings. His death greatly impacts the few members of the squadron, such as Yossarian, who were acquainted with him. It got the flies out of Yossarian’s eyes: in this

    Read More

  • The Movement for Women's Rights Inside The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    1638 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women have been mistreated, enchained and dominated by men for most part of the human history. Until the second half of the twentieth century, there was great inequality between the social and economic conditions of men and women (Pearson Education). The battle for women's emancipation, however, had started in 1848 by the first women's rights convention, which was led by some remarkable and brave women (Pearson Education). One of the most notable feminists of that period was the writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She was also one of the most influential feminists who felt strongly about and spoke frequently on the nineteenth-century lives for women. Her short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" characterizes the condition of women of the nineteenth century through the main character’s life and actions in the text. It is considered to be one of the most influential pieces because of its realism and prime examples of treatment of women in that time. This essay analyzes issues the protagonist goes through while she is trying to break the element of barter from her marriage and love with her husband. This relationship status was very common between nineteenth-century women and their husbands.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Television and Presidential Elections

    2346 Words  | 5 Pages

    The aim of this paper is to look at the relationship between the mass media, specifically television, and presidential elections. This paper will focus on the function of television in presidential elections through three main areas: exit polls, presidential debates, and spots. The focus is on television for three reasons. First, television reaches more voters than any other medium. Second, television attracts the greatest part of presidential campaign budgets. Third, television provides the candidates a good opportunity to contact the people directly. A second main theme of this paper is the role of television in presidential elections in terms of representative democracy in the United States.

    Read More

  • How Media Influences Public Opinion

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Anchorperson and Bad News

Open Document