Noah Rothman's Essay 'Taking Sides In Ferguson'

The Braindead Megaphone written by George Saunders analyzes the many negative effects that nowaday news media has on society. He begins by illustrating a scene in which a man disrupts a party and drowns out all voices with a megaphone. Now this imagery is a metaphor in which the megaphone represents the news media such as newspaper, television, radio, and of course the internet. As Saunders narration continues the people at the party soon begin to respond to whatever the man with the megaphone says and even starts to mimic things he does and say. In fact it does not matter what he says as long as the megaphone is in his hand. The reason he is able to dictate the mood of the room is explained by Saunders who states “responses are predicted

American journalist and politician, Clare Boothe Luce, in her opening speech at the 1960 Women’s National Press Club meeting, prepares her audience, qualifying and defending her forthcoming criticism. Luce’s purpose is to provoke thought in the journalist’s minds on what journalism is really about at its core. She adopts a frank and humorous tone to best capture the attention of her intended audience of female journalists. Through, appealing to the ethos, logos, and pathos with flattery, syllogism, and rhetorical questioning to prepare the audience for her message: “the tendency of the American press to sacrifice journalistic integrity in favor of the perceived public demand for sensationalist stories.”

The first amendment may seem like something that is generally understood among all of those who use it, but this may not be the case. While most citizens of the United States of America would certainly say that they understand and can comprehend what the first amendment means, an underlying lack of knowledge, upon what is presumed to be the most important of all the amendments, can still be discovered. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The specific piece of the first amendment that is particularly important

Waking up on a Sunday morning, enjoying a freshly brewed mug of coffee, relaxing at home reading the newspaper… to most Americans, this would seem like an ideal leisurely weekend. This has been a social norm for almost a century up until only recently. Now, we find ourselves lazily staying in bed catching up on social media, text messages, and the occasional news blurb located conveniently within our smartphones. Because of this conveniency, technology has had a considerable negative impact on traditional journalism during the last decade.

Larry Buchanan’s “What Happened in Ferguson” first appeared in The New York Times. The article addresses the murder of an unarmed African America teen, named Michael Brown shot and killed by white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. It goes on to explain the events leading up to the shooting, witness evidence as well as the aftermath of the traumatic event. Buchanan aims to inform the general public of factors associated with criminal as well as racial profiling.

The Watergate Scandal of 1972 is considered to be particularly significant in the history of America; it encompassed an array of illegal activities including the bugging of offices, break-ins, cover-ups and a serious abuse of presidential power, all of which led to the first and last resignation of a U.S president. Although Watergate is typically remembered as a political scandal, it was also a defining event for the media, and more importantly in this case, the relationship between president Nixon and the media. It is important to recognise that the hostility between Nixon and 'the press' had existed for almost a decade before the emergence of the Watergate scandal in 1972, therefore this essay will focus on Watergate as the pinnacle of a

Michelle Malkin claims that Lynne Stewart is a danger and cancer to America and that she should be kept in prison for her support and contribution towards to terrorism in the United States. Malkin supports her position by using logos and historical evidence to persuade the reader to stand by her on condemning Lynne Stewart because she is a “Sicko Terrorist” who believes that 9/11 was merely an "armed struggle.”, she uses many different events that Stewart was a part of while explaining how she is a disgusting American.Malkin aims to expose the vile person that Lynne Stewart is in order to keep Stewart in jail for her crimes. Perhaps she is doing

“ Notice that there is more pressure on black people to stop talking about “Race” than there is for racists to stop being racists. System does not racism to end, it just wants you to stop talking about it.”(Chris Rock). Has the black race always been a target of the law enforcement? Ferguson riots did not seem to make a slight difference because, even though thousands of people fought for what they believed was right nothing ever changed. Police officers still treat blacks like if they were a virus that needed to be cured. Provided that information, all of the riots and arrests that occurred in Ferguson will not change anything that will occur in the future.

When was it ever a smart idea to broadcast bad situations like it was entertainment? People see horrific situations and the media constantly replays it like it’s supposed to be praised. School shootings shouldn’t be heard of at all and it makes it hard to ignore bad situations when people are jumping to hear about the next bad event. Media coverage of school shootings should not be overly broadcasted because it can cause more problems in the end.

Powerful acts of political representation can position audiences to perceive the accompanying outcomes and values as either positive or negative. Media and governments are able to manipulate the social construct to control and impose political motives on society, bringing out the best and the worst of human nature. Barry Levinson’s thought-provoking, satirical black comedy, Wag the Dog (1997) demonstrates the power that media has in our society and its effects, through an exaggerated perspective, which emphasises the way media manipulates the public 's beliefs, thoughts and the way they interact. Levinson uses satire to reveal the worst of human nature, yet aiming, as satire does, to appeal to the best in human nature. He also satirises the

Before media, politicians and other newsmakers had to rely on word of mouth to communicate the various messages they were espousing. However, they found this was an unreliable method of communication and the first newspapers and other media mediums were created. This comes at a drawback. As media companies grow larger and larger, they become more susceptible to bias. This has lead to a proliferation of bias across the many media companies in existence today. Media bias has a very large effect on society and most often in a negative way. There are four specific effects that will be discussed. These are, it undermines the public’s trust in the media, it leads to a decline in productive discussion, it can ruin the reputation of businesses or individuals

The central theme of media manipulation and the consequences of that are explained and uncovered in Ryan Holiday’s book Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator. Holiday offers a brutally honest insight into the world of PR and journalism, one that many people can have trouble accepting and one that makes us doubt every form of media and advertisement around us and exposes the twisted relationship between online media and marketing. In the beginning of the book, Holiday admits that he is a liar, but asks the readers to believe everything he says. As mentioned in an article published by Poynter institute, “He has a point to make, but he 's like the addict warning of the dangers of drugs, all the while snorting a line and shaking his head at how bad it is” (Silverman, 2012). It’s a bold move asking to be trusted after admitting to

In the debate about what is culturally and ethically appropriate to broadcast, there has arguably been great back-last against media events as news. To aide this understanding, there is a need to critically dissect the Media Event in terms of its newsworthiness in the past, present, and future. In this essay, the works of Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz (1992) and Elihu Katz (1980) will be used to shape an overview of media events, their need and appeal in the media. Stuart Ewen (1996) will be used to shed light on a publicity-driven media, while Daniel Boorstin (1961) will emphasise on the vices of the media event; these will be critically assessed. Finally, in a self-developed case study about the rescue of Chilean miners in 2010, disasters will be discussed as a different form of media event.

When thinking of the media you think they are reporting the appropriate and accurate information not based on any personal opinions and feelings. Also one would not think the media would be reporting based on one side of politics or the other. The media is extremely biased when it comes to politics and news. While some of the media is conservative-biased I believe the mass media is liberal-biased. Majority of media outlets are liberal companies, media personnel and journalists will identify themselves as democrats and liberals more so than republicans or conservatives and lastly the left side (liberals) of the mass media is persuasive on what information to report.

Imagine a world in which anyone can can access information instantaneously, now imagine that the people in this world that supply the information decide to use this power to spread lies faster than ever, now stop imagining because this world is actually our own. Now that the internet is more accessible than ever people are taking advantage of it to further their own agendas. A very recent example of this is pizzagate, a story about how a little pizza place in Washington DC was running a child sex ring in their basement and that the owner had a criminal record. This story was fabricated of course but the repercussions were awful. If fake news is going to continue to be a problem then we need to find a way to get people to stop people from buying into it.