Start by taking a survey similar to those conducted by polling companies and news organizations regarding what issues are most important to you. you can find the survey here.
Next take a look at how your responses and the responses of your classmates compare to national polls here (If you'd like, you you can test your knowledge of recent news based on news quizzes from The New York Times.
Now peruse some of the leading local and national news agencies to browse what they are or are not covering.
Local: The Chicago Tribune, ABC Chicago, WGN, NBC Chicago
National: The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBCNews, ABCNews, CBS News, Politico
Finally please post a comment describing your reactions and reactions to your classmates comments. You can use any or all of the following prompts as a starting point if you wish.
- How does the American media shape the political culture of American citizens today?
- Are the issues that seem to be the most important to you (or to the rest of America) being covered by the media?
- What conclusions can we draw from the way that the issues that dominate the polls and media coverage are similar or different?
Comparing my results with the national results, there is a lot of overlap. The two biggest issues by far that Americans want the government to address are the economy and the budget. I also put these two issues as “extremely important”. I think many Americans have been focusing more on these two issues due to recent events, such as the government shutdown and the Great Recession. Looking at the New York Times website, I saw nothing about the budget or deficit. There were some articles about economic issues, but nothing that was talking about what the government is doing or should do to help stimulate the economy. In my opinion, I think that the issues dominating the polls and media coverage are different. For example, I saw a lot about the Ukraine and Russia situation on the national news websites. However, there were very few poll questions about foreign affairs. I think that this is because foreign affairs are very complicated, and there is never an easy solution for messy parts of the world. Overall, I think that the media should report more on the news that Americans need and want to hear, such as how high the deficit is going. Maybe by being constantly aware of how much we are borrowing and spending, Americans will be able to pressure the government to reign in its spending.
ReplyDelete1.American Media I believe can be bias. I feel like when I watch the news they take sides on the story and sometimes are not giving facts instead they are voicing their opinion. Also I feel like the different levels of news affect our view on an issue. The local news I believe we can relate more to than on the national level.
ReplyDelete2.I would say that most of them are in the local level and some in the national level. For example I live in Blue Island and we have had two bridges closed for about 4 years I think, and it has affected the community badly because the only two bridges that are open have high amounts of traffic and are in bad conditions. The bridges have big potholes and the sidewalks as well. Also both bridges are surrounded by trains and you can be stuck for hours especially if you do not know the area. Due to the recent closing of the third bridge Blue Island made it to the local news. That is why I think that the local news shows more news of my interest.
3.I believe that the biggest issues that are on the news are those that are talked about in the polls. Candidates have to talk about these issues because they are the ones people are worried about. This is why I think they are similar.
There is no surprise that the majority of Americans are predominantly concerned about the economy, and rightfully so. Yet, I want to focus on the “other” category that is included in most polls. Regardless of the poll distributor, the “other” category almost always remains high. However, there are moments where they remain dreadfully low, such as in the CNN poll taken between Sept. 6-8, 2013 (1%) and CBS poll taken between 18-22, 2013 (3%). While the reasoning behind this ranges, the stark contrast between these percentages and the rest of the polls, which average approximately 30%, is striking. The reason for this discrepancy is not due the pressing issues of the economy, budget deficit, or healthcare being any less urgent, but rather what the media is focusing on. For example, Ukraine has dominated many headlines for the past several weeks, but before the issues in the Crimea, not many people gave Ukraine a second thought (unless you are a boxing fanatic). However, it is not just what the media covers, but also the way they frame the story. The side in which the news company’s take can have a lasting effect on how we perceive the event.
ReplyDeleteConcerning question 1, the media shapes our political culture by telling us what's important. If all this is covered it terrorism is the Middle East, then we'll naturally think there's a high potential for the conflict to spill over onto our shores it we don't take action. It's almost paradoxical that we spend hundreds of billions to stifle terrorists that kill a relatively insignificant amount of Americans while spending next to nothing on heart disease research that could prolong the lives of hundreds of millions. It can be pretty easy for the media to get our priories all ass-backwards.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say American culture is very much formed by what we see in the media today. I've always thought of the media to have a serious case of ADD. Whatever they can get their hands on seems to be the most interesting story at the time and if something else comes up it's like that previous story was never there. For example when we would hear about stories about people dying in the middle east we hear these for as long as they are relevant and then stories like the disappearing plane comes, which is extremely important, but it's like we forgot about what's going on around the world.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that seems to bother me about media today is how american-centric it is. Even though it is important to know what's going on in our own country, I think its equally as important to be rounded and know what's going on every where else. We never focus on issues that are in Africa or small countries around the middle east. Just pressing matters that can get most viewers watching.
When looking over the various poll reports, it was no surprise to me that the economy persistently made it to the top of most citizen's priority list. The financial wellness of this country tends to directly effect other issues such as unemployment, health care, the budget, and even education. Many people view the economy as the root of all the other issues that exist today in this country. This may or may not have to do with the information we receive on a daily basis from our media. When there isn't "Breaking News" flashing on the screen of our news channels, we are often receiving commentary from channels like CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News on the economy and how/where money is being spent. This repetitive information tends to drill in peoples minds that America's finances is a topic more worthy of attention than issues such as immigration or gun control. These three news channels are typically the only ones that will focus in on federal deficit and attempt to chip away at why we're in such large debt. Other local news sources love to focus on crime and bizarre events. Therefore, one who only watches local news channels may prioritize addressing gun control or human/drug trafficking. Personally, I like to avoid the depressing news stories covered by my local channels and tend to zone in on more national based coverage. Consequently, I chose the economy, budget, education, and foreign policy as extremely important issues. As stated earlier, those who like to stay local may prioritize other issues than I would. No matter what source you like to gain information from, it is clear that media has an enormous effect on citizen's intake and representation of information. Overall I believe that mass media is far too concerned with grasping viewers attention. We need to get to the root of our issues in order to solve them and entertaining citizens on news channels isn't going to get us there. We need to separate the desire to entertain and the need to expose important information.
ReplyDeleteOn every news site I either saw more information about Donald Sterling or how Boehner made some remark about immigration. Based on just what I saw, I would say that the American media plays a large role in shaping the political culture of citizens. When scrolling I rarely saw articles about the issues that we were polled on which explains a lot in dealing with uninformed voters during elections. Many conclusions can be drawn from the way the issues are presented that dominate the polls and media coverage because they seem to be on two different wavelengths or spectrums. Just like how we talked about if journalism needs saving today, I also feel in a way that the media needs saving, or at least a drastic change needs to happen so people can be more informed instead of being censored with trivial information.
ReplyDeleteAfter our discussion in class today, looking at the priorities of myself and others, and looking at what is being covered in national and local news I believe that the media plays a large role in shaping what is important to American citizens and what they are concerned within the context of politics. For me major issues are the economy, unemployment, and education. I believe education is important to me just because it is my field of study and future profession, which is why it may be lower on the list when it comes to the priorities of a large group of Americans. However a major percentage of people, across different polls, listed that the economy was a major concern for most people. Is that because we are constantly bombarded with statistics in the news about where money is going, how in debt the government is, and how people are suffering economically every time we look at media?
ReplyDeleteWhen I started thinking about what I care about I thought about how what I care most about is what I understand the most about, i.e. what I am most exposed to through media. I think a large reason a lot of people can agree on a few major concerns is because they are made to seem like the most major issues because they get covered the most. In America, and around the world today, people tend to believe what they read/hear/see in the media so what these institutions present as our major concern as a country many other people also put that as a priority. The media covers what they deem the most important which in turn makes those issues more important to a lot of the public.
Turn on any news station in the past few days and you will see a lot of coverage on NBA Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his racist remarks. Almost two months later, there is still coverage on the disappearing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. Hours have been dedicated to these issues, including holograms and toy planes reenacting what may have happened. Just with these two stories, I believe that the American culture is deeply affected by the media. The most important topics according to the media are played, and in turn we as citizens get information pertaining to whatever is being covered. In contrast, the biggest issue to people according to polls are the economy. I believe that many media stations are biased and twist the story in a manner that favors their side. Sadly I do not like to watch any news cast because its predominantly depressing.
ReplyDeleteHow does the American media shape the political culture of American citizens today?
ReplyDeleteAre the issues that seem to be the most important to you (or to the rest of America) being covered by the media?
What conclusions can we draw from the way that the issues that dominate the polls and media coverage are similar or different?
The American media shapes the political culture by defining what information is important for citizens to know. They are the ones who create the news and we consume news to be informed. They inform us of issues they find pertinent to our lives. This isn't necessarily a good thing, as people aren't always given valuable information about what is going on, rather they are being entertained by information that may seem more or less easy to digest and lacking of substance.
Generally for the most part, not really. The problem is, when reporting on issues, the media usually does not delve as deep into the subject as I would hope. They stay on the surface so that the broader audience can understand it, and not feel weighed down by a huge amount of information.
We can draw the conclusion that the media is attempting to entertain, while also being informative, but not always addressing key issues that are pertinent to the growth of our country and informing our citizens of true issues.
The American media has greatly shaped the political culture of American citizens. As Americans, we rely on the different facets of media to get the news that we seek on a daily basis. The different forms of media (print, radio, television, etc) are responsible for providing information about our country to its citizens.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone has different ideas about what is important. Some people watch the news for the entertainment news, some watch for international news, some watch for local news, etc. I personal look for news about The United States, foreign affairs, and some entertainment news. I go on the internet for my entertainment news and I rely on the internet and television for everything else. The issues that are most important to me are being covered by the news, but I can't speak for everyone.
-Katelyn Schweitzer
I believe that most news media is made up of of sensationalized pollution that distracts viewers from what they need to know to become informed citizens in the voting booths. I mostly stick to reading Aljazeera and NPR to get my information. Some might think these sources are boring, I think they give great context into which events occur. What angers me the most is that these journalists are not held accountable for the pollution they put out there, which in turn does not hold politicians accountable for their actions. I think journalism is SO important in a democratic society. However, it reduces its value when people report on stories like “I’m wearing Google Glass. I hate it” or “Knox Family Disputes Court's Theft Motive for Murder.” Even the immense amount of coverage the Clippers owner story is getting, bugs me a little.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see why the economy is on top of every news organizations top issues, it’s because it’s the most covered issue. It is possible that most people do not even know a lot about the shape of our economy, but because they are being exposed to it through the news over and over again, that is what sticks.
What is also interesting is the news does a wide coverage about how we have a shortage of jobs. Because of this, when I read the information for the blog last week, I was surprised that we actually have a shortage of highly educated individuals for highly educated jobs. This makes me wonder if this largely covered topic is just part of a political agenda to get people to think we need more low paying jobs (& give corporations and the rich tax breaks because they will create jobs and so on) rather than we need more higher educated people (& reform education or lesson inequality). Honestly I do not have a deep understanding of this all and it is just a surface look into “shortage of jobs” coverage.
One great example of a political agenda working is the Republicans argument that the Affordable Care Act is socialism. It is insane how many people I know will make that argument. And when I try to tell them otherwise they do not believe me because I am not the “news.”
If I hear one more thing about Sterling and the Clippers I’m going to explode. That said, the national survey results were relatively universal in naming the economy as the primary concern of the public for the government to address. Browsing the local news for Chicago most of the stories readily available for viewing relate to crime, specifically gun violence and car crashes, as well as sports stories with minor mention of global events. In order to read anything about the economy one must dig a little deeper into the websites to find information. On the national level, the economy and minimum wage related pieces are more readily found along with news on the happenings in Ukraine as well as endless circle-jerk Clippers news. However on ABC and CBS, I was surprised to find articles about the movie Mean Girls and whales exploding on beaches with no mention of the economy. Politico also had a list of popular articles that did not reflect the polling interest in economic problem solving. Overall, I do not think that the media is covering what the polls indicate the American public is interested in seeing our government solve. Most media deals with short-term and graspable concepts that the public can consume easily and quickly. While I believe the media does in many ways shape our political culture and views, it does not necessarily reflect what is most important to us politically. It instead seems to rely on more polarizing and sensational stories that create distance from what the polls suggest to be our actual interest. I personally wish that there were more comprehensive articles relating to the economy and budget that would create a wider depth of information. I was excited to see a couple articles on the front pages of these national websites addressing the minimum wage bill, but they were more scare than articles about popular culture. A conclusion I draw from this is that news is moving away from complex issue analysis on the surface level to a strictly entertainment based value system. This leaves the American audience in a place where the news they consume no longer fits their interest points in government. While the information can be sought out, what could happen is a decreasing knowledge base on issues that are important to us but harder to find information on. This could make us less able to create the change we would like to see in regards to our economy and national budget. That said, each news station does cater to its own audience so while there may be a national interest in the economy, there may not be a localized audience interest demanding that information from their news networks. This disconnect is confusing to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I view the news media, I think of them as people who are decidated to bringing the important events around the nation to America while communicating them in a way that we are able to understand the storeis. Within the last three or four days however, I have coem to realize just how much media is controlled as an industry. Ordinarly, I like to turn on the news or read the front page of the Tribune to gain an understanding of the previous day's news. Hearing the continued controversey over Donald Sterling's ownership over the Clippers greatly infuriates me because it seems the only story the media wants to focus on is Sterling and the Clippers, rather than focusing on the complex issues the government faces, such as avoiding yet another government shutdown. It seems as though the crisis in Ukraine has received very little attention in rececnt days due to the Clippers controversey. I honesty could care less about the ownership of an NBA team, and would like the media to focus more on the important issues facing our nation. As Sarah mentioned, it does feel as though the media are shifting away from what matters most to Americans, namely the economy.
ReplyDeleteThe American media has been a huge source of news for everyone whether it is through social media, radio, print, television, etc. The citizens rely on these forms of media to keep them updated with what is going on around them.
ReplyDeleteAs I looked through the websites, I saw the stories on Donald Sterling or something Clipper related. It’s definitely the top story right now. The problem is that there are more important stories being ignored and shifted to the side. The media is headlining what they think is more interesting to people rather than what is more important.
I think this is a particularly interesting time to examine news coverage given the sensationalism of the Sterling/Clipper saga. Its remarkable because Donald Sterling being a racist is NOT news and hasn't been for years! But the fact that he is embroiled in scandal is like crack for crackheads. People just can't get enough of the mindless minutiae of this incident.
ReplyDeleteNevermind that the Speaker of the House is publicly signaling once again that he can't work with members of his own caucus let's focus instead on the fact that Donald Sterling is in fact and has been a racist. Forget that the Senate Republicans just filibustered yet another bill one that would likely be popular with Joe the plumber or Main Street why don't we speculate on whether or not Oprah should buy the LA Clippers...
If you've ever taken a class with James Block at Depaul you'll know exactly what I'm saying when I say of course the media is focusing on puff pieces that have no intrinsic value that's what the "sheeple" want from the news. They don't want to hear about real issues and figure out how those real issues affect them. Its kind of the chicken and the egg conversation when you're trying to determine who is at fault. Is it the news outlets for refusing to cave to the materialistic and superficial interests of the public or is it the public's fault for gobbling up what ever processed synthetic pitiful excuse for news the media puts out?
I'm inclined to think because of the media monopolies that the news outlets are to blame and have a more dubious reason other than "satisfying the masses" to produce the content that they do. The media shapes public discourse. The media more times than not set the public agenda. If the media force fed people hard hitting news for their own good sure there might be a drop in viewership but in the long run wouldn't a more educated citizenry be worth the trade off? Isn't it the responsibility of media companies to produce real news and inform the public? That was the social contract agreed upon when the public airwaves were leased to the content providers.
I've tried many times to wrap my head around idea of the public influencing what the news media content and I just don't see how that would actually be true. Sponsors, news editors and ultimately media executives tell people what they should be interested in.
It reminds me of this clip from the American President about the absence of genuine leadership:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61l-3_i8oSw
After completing the survey and seeing the results of my colleagues and national polls, it is not a surprise that the state of the economy remains the top priority for many Americans. As individuals living in the United States, being economically secure is what we all strive towards. This perspective is the result of the system that is in place. The media understands that most people are focused about their financial security above all other issues which is why the media focuses a lot of their time addressing the economy. Issues like national security, abortion, environmental policies, immigration reform, etc. are very important but in the end, pushing forward these issues and trying to find solutions to alleviate these issues cost a lot of money. That’s why it is extremely important for the President and Congress to address and promote long-lasting tactics in stimulating the economy. Once the unemployment rate drops and citizens are more financially secure, then that is the right time to focus more on the other issues.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, the amount of time and resources allocated towards the issues presented in the survey correlates with the state of the economy. Many people believe that the government shouldn’t be pouring in money for funding abortions, or allowing undocumented immigrants to become citizens (which will further increase economic competition), or creating restrictions on gun ownerships that will dramatically reduce sales. The fact is that the federal government is in a huge amount of debt and it doesn’t make sense to allocate money to these issues first without stabilizing the economy.
In order to understand these national polls and the relationship between the media and the public, an important question has to be answered: Does public opinion influence the media or does the media influence public opinion? In my opinion, I believe the latter dominates. Most people are not educated about the pressing issues that are affecting our country so they turn to their local news outlets to receive this information. The more exhaustively an issue is covered, the more important people believe the issue is which results in diminishing the importance of other pressing issues.
On a final note, I want to address how the current sensationalized state of the media has led to an increase and demand for speculative journalism. As I flip through news channels like CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, etc, there is a heavy emphasis on focusing about the “what if” instead of the “what is going on” regarding a specific issue. For example, a few weeks ago Stephen Colbert had a segment regarding CNN and how they exhaustively covered the disappearance of the Malaysian flight. They even used 3-D technology to create a virtual enactment of what could’ve happened to the plane. Instead of focusing on speculation, Colbert believed that this sort of 3-D presentation should be used towards issues that are happening right now that deserve much more attention such as global climate change.
I cansider all the means of communication should be impartial. In occasions I feel that the infomoation be projected is what the media just wants to present. Only giving priorties to subjects that they feel is important. Sometimes you look around the place where you live any only think why this isn't presented in local or national news, its important for our society.
ReplyDeleteLike many of my classmates have already stated the biggest news story right now is Donald Sterling. It seems that as a society we care most about the economy, health care, etc. but we don't want to see it in the news. If we wanted to read about it it would be in there. With the ever changing internet, i feel that the public has much more control over what is put out in the media. Just using trends on twitter media outlets can automatically know what people are interested in, and if they will pay to read about it. The issues that are most important to us, are not very interesting on paper. I guess its about finding that middle ground of interest and importance. The issues that we care most about have also been issues for a while now. We aren't going to pay attention unless something is being done about changing them. I think the media as a business is doing what they need to for viewer and readership. Can we blame them? If you think about it would you rather read a story about Donald Sterling, or the little progress we have made on these important issues?
ReplyDeleteI definitely see the media shaping what people deem to be important and not important just from viewing the websites and the poll outcomes. For example, in almost every poll, the economy and jobs were the main concern for most. This is reflected in the top story that pops up on the New York Times website, which talks about where the middle class prospers economically the most in terms of nations (Canada and the United States are compared in the article). The fact that this is the first story showing up on an incredibly popular online news source explains to an extent why the main concern in the poll results is the economy.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the economy and job growth is important, but at the same time I think there are some other urgent matters, not covered by the online media outlets, that could potentially help this issue. These other matters for example could be the education system, which if reformed, could put more people to work and have a long-term effect of more-educated citizens. Another matter that is not touched upon in the online news is “going green” or being environmentally friendly. This matter if addressed properly, could also produce jobs for people in the green energy field and environmentally friendly products and it could also have a positive residual benefit of a healthier planet.
Personally, I always find it a bit funny that politicians and the media seem to focus on issues that they can quickly put temporary bandages over rather than the issues that could fix things like the economy and job growth in the long term. I think that this dilemma is presented well when one compares the top news articles and political/congressional agendas with the outcomes of the polls.
I believe that American media plays a huge role when it comes to shaping the political culture. Every thing we know and hear mainly comes from the media. The media tells us what we want to hear or what they think they want us hear. For example, depending on what new station you listen to; tells someone a lot about you. Republicans mainly tune into fox while Democrats tune into nbc. There are many issues that are important to Americans and myself. One of them being the economy, almost everyday there will be something reported about the economy. Another important issue would be foreign affairs. We are always curious about where America stands with different countries. One thing that we can draw from this, is the fact that we are always interested in what happen within our country but also where we stand with other countries. Politicans know what people want to hear, and that's what they say but once in office they never do anything about it. They speak more than they do.
ReplyDeleteAs we talked in class media does influence much of our persecutive in regards to government. The media has immense power within Americans because just about all every American gets their news from the media rather than from other sources. The media coverage has shape how Americans perceive the world and what they consider is important. Many of our politicians pay very close attention to the media. When the media reports the new it serves as an intermediary between the government and the people. Which helps determine which issues should be discussed but also trying to keep people actively involved in politics. I would say that for some part yes, the media covers some important issues that are concerning but not to its core. I think the media does hide much of what is going on but for the reason being that people can not handle the truth. Although, people want answers to their questions sometimes its better to not say anything. Honestly, for the most part we are never told the honest truth. I think that the more advance technology gets the more people are going to use it and of course media will also advance with it.
ReplyDeleteLike we covered in class, the media has a way of giving us a warped version of the truth, as was shown when Ron Paul was completely left out of media coverage during the Iowa straw poll even though he was a strong contender. The media primes us, and we believe what the media says, often without question. Television, newspapers, and news reports are where most of us receive our information, and therefore how we begin to form opinions. That also shapes what we regard as "important to us". If the media continues to bring up certain stories, we begin to see them as more important. When the news cycle dies down, so does our interest. The best example I can think of is how the support for gun control laws bumped up drastically after Sandy Hook (of course this was a terrible tragedy, but also consider the amount of coverage it received). However a year later, as different issues started becoming "more important" that support dwindled down and it wasn't as important, polls leveled down to the average. Overall, I think the media influences us in all different sectors of our lives and of thinking more than we're willing to admit.
ReplyDeleteIt appears to me that the local news tends to focus on what what I would call “mass news.” By this I mean that they might focus on important topics here and there (such as an address from the President, a government shutdown, etc) but for the most part serve up distractions in the form of entertainment and scandals. Noam Chomsky would describe this as a form of mass media, the branch of the media used to distract the masses from the goings on at the higher levels of power.
ReplyDeletePolitico, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and other such news sources are exactly the opposite. They are what we could call “elite news sources,” meaning that they are meant for a more learned and privileged crowd. They tend to cover more serious topics, ranging from foreign affairs to the goings-on in D.C and the economy. Even their entertainment sections are more refined, focusing on plays and the critique of movies. News sources such as these often enjoy access to important figures in American as well as international society. Their op-ed pieces are written by experts in various fields and often herald policy shifts.
Understanding the distinction between the two source sis important as it allows us to glimpse into the divisions of class that exist within our country.
As many people pointed out, the media seems to be dominated by popular culture stories or sensational news stories that soon get overshadowed by the next major breaking news story. I more or less agree with the general trends of the polls as far as which issues are important, but the polls generally only include broad political, economic, and governmental issues. The disconnect between what the polls indicate is important and what news stories we actually get bombarded with makes me wonder, if they were to add “Donald Sterling and the Clippers” to the list, would that beat out the economy as the most important issue? I mean, I hope not. But whenever “other” is presented as an option, it becomes one of the most highly selected options. I like to think that people had “foreign policy” or maybe a specific local issue in mind, but I suppose it could also mean “racist owners of NBA teams.” But then I guess that leads me to question whether people just tend to gravitate toward “interesting” or sensational stories rather than stories about the issues that they believe are important.
ReplyDeleteThat, then, brings up the question of whether the media reports what the people want to read, or the people decide what they want to read based on what the media reports. I would say that it is probably a little bit of both. The media has to think about how to maintain or broaden their readership so they publish what they think their readers want to see. Then again, they can easily shape what their readers see as important based on what stories they decide to include or exclude from their publication. In my humble opinion, I prefer when different publications have narrow audiences and a more specific focus. I think it’s a little crazy that I can find headlines that read “White House Defends New Benghazi Email” and “5 Reasons to Hope Oprah Buys the Clippers” on the same page (ABCnews).
It was blatantly stated last class how the American media shapes the political culture of American citizens today: framing, priming, forcing particular perspectives, all that good, sly stuff. As a sports aficionado, I bring up the example of ESPN, a mega power in the sports media world. Several years ago, I often defended LeBron James (Cavalier LeBron, before people burned things with his name on it) against over-zealous and mind-bogglingly ignorant Kobe Bryant supporters in conversations regarding the top player at the time. It wasn't difficult to see why they tried to argue in favor of Kobe - any chance they could, ESPN would make Kobe seem as heroic as possible. Instead of comparing defensive aptitude or the whole scope of statistics, their Kobe-LeBron comparisons largely showed two statistics: points per game (the only statistic that favored Kobe over LeBron, though marginally at best) and championships. People ate it up. This may not be all too prevalent in the grand scheme of American political culture, but it baffled me at the time. How on Earth could anyone argue in favor of Bryant? Statistically, they weren't even close, and even in watching the games, their defensive presence illuminated James's prowess far more than Bryant's. I was speaking to brainwashed people. They had been primed and framed so strongly that they adopted the mindset of the media monster without a second thought. I think this still happens with regularity, but with so many media sources invested in political discussion, it's difficult to spot. Nevertheless, sports media alone has shown me the power a media company has on people.
ReplyDeleteSry for rant, I root for Brian Scalabrine now
I think that the media defines American political culture. As we saw in class, the media decides the narrative of politics today. We only see as much as they report. Its very hard to go against that tide. Luckily for me, I think most issues that are important to me are in fact covered. I didn't say that they were being covered in a way that is satisfactory to me. But they are at least being addressed.
ReplyDelete