Today, there is a lot of bias going on in the media. Media bias is the perception that the media is reporting the news in a partial or prejudiced manner. The media today feeds people with the correct information, but not complete information. They leave one side of a story or a crucial aspect of a story. An example is the case of the 2008 election.
During these few weeks democrats and Republicans Who are running for president were engaged in a battle to win the Iowa caucus. The state of Iowa hosted the first official vote of the 2016 campaign. During the Iowa caucus, different tactics and strategies were used by both parties to gain votes, through the use of persuasion ,repugnant comments, and the use of the media. The two articles I will be discussing, “ Ad Wars of 2016 Campaign Erupt in a Changing TV Arena” by Nick Corasaniti and “Attack ! why next 2 weeks could get nastier than ever” by Jennifer Jacobs.
The media is a major source of information for voters. Voters depend on the media to make their decision on who to support and vote for. As much trouble as the media causes, they play a major role in our political system. The American President accurately depicts the political process.
First, the media can easily persuade the American people to think what they want for instance; in the movie Wag the Dog they make the public believe that they really are at war when everything they are showing is fake (movie). “The vast majority of journalists at these major outlets are generally liberal” and so if they are liberal they will write what they think about the situation (Washington Examiner). By them doing that they get all the American people to believe what they believe. “Some claiming that there is no such thing as media bias and that the republican candidates were just upset about the tough questioning” which is really just another one of the writers opinions. If they
Angus Campbell once stated, “The advent of television in the late 1940’s gave rise to the belief that a new era was opening in public communication”. 75 years later, it looks like he was spot on. Since the invention of the television in the 1940’s, stations have decided to broadcast presidential debates on live television. The broadcasting of the debates has had some positive effects on presidential elections—such as a deeper connection between the president and the American people and a decrease in political party power—yet overall televised debates have had a negative effect on elections; the elections have turned too superficial and interest in candidates’ opinions on important matters have decreased. Due to televised presidential debates,
In the United States, television influences presidential elections by presenting the candidate debates and campaigning ads to the public. Television has a negative impact on the political elections because it focuses on the images of the candidates and presents inaccurate and misleading information; this distracts the public from the political reasons a candidate should be president. The images that television gives has a negative impact on the elections because it persuades people to vote for a candidate on looks rather than politics. In 1960, when Nixon and Kennedy took part in a debate broadcasted on TV, Kennedy had a “crisp” image and Nixon had a “fuzzed” image (Menand).
Americans are continuing to become apathetic to politics compared to Americans in the 1950s. It is important to find the reason why this phenomenon is currently over taking the United States otherwise it will grow to become more problematic. I have an idea that this new apathetic attitude towards politics is rooted in the media and political leaders. It has been discussed how are there are numerous theories of media bias and proof political leaders do not always speak the truth on various issues. A growing number of Americans are not able to pick out these falsities from the media which could be a caused by a lack of education.
The first record of the number of people who watched the debates is in 1976 and 63.9 million people watched. However, in 1996, the audience size dropped to 46.1 million viewers (Source D). It follows that television was not actually vital in the spread of information because after the initial increase in viewers, the audience size dropped rapidly. The argument that television is essential to the continuation of America’s democracy is irrelevant because the number of people who use television to stay informed is falling. Television’s ability to spread information has become insignificant overtime, and therefore, does not aid in America’s decision for
In World War II, propaganda was a tool the Nazis used to brainwash the German public into believing the reason for their loss in World War I was due to the Jews. With the lies and false information the Nazis continued to feed to the public, they were able to obtain a large and vicious following. Today, the U.S. faces a similar issue of lies and misinformation being spread and consumed by the public through the tool of partisan media. Partisan media is a problem that is unfortunately constantly ignored because many are unaware of just how detrimental the effects of partisan media could become if not addressed and stopped soon. It is deceiving many Americans and leading them to question what and whom they can trust.
Murrow Political Bias in media is one of the most rampant examples of bias in terms of its influence on mindsets of people. The statement above by Edward R. Murrow makes total sense in today’s world. Political Bias is at its peak during elections. Public has to vote for candidates and much information about the candidates comes from media. Media, during these times, takes this advantage.
Some say there has been less public opinion as time has gone on. However, the media's presence in modern-day elections makes it inevitable for American democracy to acknowledge public opinion. The presence of the media makes public opinion constantly present in America's democracy, which highlights the flaw in the argument that the influence of public opinion has decreased.
In America, Media bias is everywhere, in the United States all the information that an average American received through everyday sources, the news was most likely processed through the media and told through a biased point of view, when the media gets their hands on news if it is important then it probably won’t be talked about or downplayed no matter the source like in the newspaper, radio, television, movies, as well as other outlets that the media uses, the media only seems to share the news that they find interesting, even then the media would most likely have changed the story, in what they say is just tweaked news, what actually happened and what really happened would be two different stories, also the story would be told from one person
Social interaction is largely influenced by its nurturing outside environment, especially television, the internet, and the media. Millions of Americans are heavily dependent on modern technology to the extent where they become distant from one another, from their innate culture. The modern media negatively influences American society and detaches its members from a sense of identity and unity. The 21st century consists of a never-ending digital frontier that seeks to dominate thinking and eventually transform America. With the digital frontier, people are given convenient access to a plethora of information, whether good or bad.
I have come to realize that the media has always sided what was popular to the public. Though in some cases I’m sure there have been some influencing through monetary means and under the table deals. Nonetheless the media actually served as a counter argument to my thoughts and actually helped me remembered in why I vote for what I vote for. As you can see from most of the media in the last 6 years it has served towards democrats and more government interference. Now don’t get me wrong things like the patriot act are necessary for the safety of our nations
The media has a crucial role during democratic elections when people appeal to the media to acquire information about candidates and make a decision. However, the presence of fake news threatens democracy; therefore, it is essential that people recognize the effects of fake news and combat them. Reasons behind fake news
