Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Is the Media 100% at Fault???
A hot topic of debate in class so far has been whether or not the media effectively serves the needs of the American people. While I do believe that the media is more concerned with celebrity stories and gossip, we have to consider whether the media is really 100% at fault. In my opinion, both the media AND the public are to blame for the lack of information regarding today's government and policies. As mentioned in class before, all media networks are competing against one another for viewers. Therefore, they must report the stories that attract the most viewers, thereby increasing their ratings. This is where I feel that the public may be at fault as well. Most people today seem to be more concerned with the latest news and gossip in Hollywood rather than news regarding the latest government policies and regulations. I'm not sure whether or not this is because the media highlights the entertainment news, making the public very informed about these topics, and usually puts important information that actually affects our country in the background. This also leads me to wonder whether people may just be more concerned with entertainment news because that is what we see most of the time on news stations today. Or maybe people just really do care more about entertainment news and gossip. It can be really scary sometimes to hear how many people are not informed at all about what is going on with their country. But ask someone about Michael Jackson's funeral and they could probably tell you every detail about it. All in all, I feel that the media is definitely to blame for the lack of information today, but I also feel that the public is to blame as well.
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100% agreed. People need to stop blaming the media because the reason we have multiple channels more interested in real-world-like shows is because it draws ratings and advertisers. No one really care about 'political' news unless something important is happening. Kinda funny when the prof asked people about the latest news and about only 3 people had a question, but once someone mentioned American Idol, the whole class lit up...everyone had an opinion.
ReplyDeleteNo, the media is not the only thing we should blame. We should blame ourselves for not seeking and demanding truth or substance. The media is only giving us what we ask for, what sells. If we start demanding hard news, we shall get hard news.
ReplyDeleteThis just goes to show how lazy people today are, both media and public. It is very easy to develop a story about Michale Jackson; there is no analysis or thinking needed. To report a soft news story all one needs to do is have the story in front of them and read it off. All the public has to do is listen. They don't have to know any background information of history, they don't even have to analyze anything. It's just there. Whereas if people want to learn about any foreign affairs, political, or economical issue, they have to think and analyze the situation and actually know some background information.
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