Media Bias and the Culture Wars
This is a commentary article written by Robert J. Bresler that was published in USA Today in July of 2004. In this article Bresler summarizes how the media has had a hand in shaping the political views of the country and has forced a deeper divergence between the liberal and conservative viewpoints.
In the article Bresler describes the ‘culture wars’ between the liberals and the conservatives, and how the media reflects a certain viewpoint based on the political affiliation of the current government. He goes on to describe how early on the media reflected a conservative viewpoint and arguments and disagreements were rarely seen on television, but now the media reflects a much more liberal viewpoint and more argument and questioning of the government goes on. The article also suggests that the media is now more ‘scandal hungry’, and programs on television and articles in magazines and newspapers have a certain sense of sensationalism about them. Bresler argues that this division between liberals and conservatives is growing larger instead of converging, and that the media should reflect a more unbiased perspective, and report stories without putting a liberal or conservative perspective on the situation.
I think this article makes some valid arguments about the media influence on the political viewpoints of this country. It is hard to turn on the television or read the newspaper without being bombarded by one political viewpoint or the other. I think it is interesting how the media has switched from a conservative viewpoint where argument and heated discussion were rare, to the place where it is now. Most programs on television do have a sense of sensationalism about them, who was the first to land the story, reporters behind the scenes or on the front lines, and the obsession that many in this country have with celebrities and their scandals. I think as good as it would be to present an ‘unbiased look’ at the stories that make the headlines, it think it would be very difficult if not impossible to accomplish. Every person in this country has an opinion and wants to make sure that it is heard, even those who are reporting on the news stories. I think as long as we are able to engage in intelligent discussion and debate, and try our hardest to understand both sides of the situation, we will hopefully in the end be able to come up with our own take on the situation. (408)
Link to article:
http://proquest.umi.com/pdqweb?did=662819231&sid=5&fmt=3clientid=23824&RQT=309&VName=PQD
3 comments:
I agree with you that it would be nice to have a non-biased media. The only problem with that is that it will never happen. No matter what news station you turn your TV to you will always come across news programs that play favorites when it comes to politics. I believe that the practice of broadcasting biased news is wrong but will never change because people in general are biased. They aren’t accepting of other’s views and will do whatever they can to push their own ideas. Bresler is totally right when it comes to the media. We need to change our media so that it doesn’t only reflect the opinions of the leaders of the stations, or if need be find a new form of media that will treat all issues fairly. (134)
The media is definitely gaining more power in shaping the political views of the country, but I believe that much of it is the influence of extremists, who have an agenda to promote the differences between the parties. I don’t believe that the true liberals and conservatives are all that far apart, and have a real desire to do good things for the country. It’s unfortunate that the extremists have hijacked the political system, and even more unfortunate that the media has allowed itself to be hijacked. I’ve long ago quit watching mainstream media, and look for alternate news sources to see what’s really happening in the world. (108)
That's interesting that the media is pushing liberalism and conservatism farther away from one another, as it appears that the opposite is actually happening in politics. During the 2000 election, I went to a Ralph Nader speech (regardless of my personal opinions and political ideas, he really is a brilliant man) and he referred to a website that showed a hundred and some odd agreements on issues between the primary candidates. Anyway, the point is that the media rarely appears to be catching reality any longer. Crime goes down, but publicity for it goes up, so fear goes up, and the demand for media about crime sells well, and more crime is televised. The liberals and the democrats become nearly interchangeable, yet the media labels everything "liberal" or "conservative" and people get angry with one another for their party affiliations, watch their own biased news program, get more opinionated, etc. It's sad, but that's capitalism. Great post! (155)
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