Get your own Free Home PageIt's clear. The influence that the news media has over us is plain to see. We react to news reports as we see them. We base our outdoor activities on the weather forecast. We make business deals on the information gathered from financial bulletins. We use the news to gain important knowledge to help us in our everyday lives.
The news media, as a singular entity, carries a lot of power. As we know, it has the power to influence lives in many ways. A movie, for example, can be a big hit if given the right review by a critic, but might not be as successful if given a unsatisfactory rating. Politicians can be elected or impeached depending on how he or she is portrayed on the news. Even court cases can be, as the saying goes, "tried in the media".
The great power of the press and the emotional impact of the television news profoundly influences public opinion. Inherent in this kind of power is a great responsibility to use it justly. However, in this age of controversy, violence, and moral upheaval, the news media is not living up to this responsibility. In the next few minutes, we shall examine the ethics, the accuracy, and the impact of media influence.
The headline stories of today are ruled by sensationalism, meaning that the stories most like soap operas take center stage. If it's sleazy and involves crime, drugs, or mistreatment, so much the better. If it can be worked into a first-class ratings-boosting real-life drama, then it is hyped and overhyped by every station under the FCC. Caring not who they hurt, or who actually cares, the media drains the story dry until nothing is left, not even dignity and honor.
Today's flavor of the week is the famous O.J. Simpson case. It is a classic tragedy about the disgrace of a national hero accused of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ron Goldman. The media is, in my opinion, going too far. Constant media coverage of the trial is only the beginning. They also went to work on a TV-movie about the trial before the actual trial even started! The trial coverage in itself leaves something to be desired as well. You would think the cameraman has a love affair with O.J. by the way he zooms in on him at all the times. The news reporters seem to have a proprietal interest in his "Dream Team"--the defense staff--too.
On the day's evening news, each station spends hours recapping what happened during the trial that day, overshadowing all other news. We hear little to nothing about other ongoing traumas that occured that day. You start to wonder, what ever happened to the conflict in Czechnya? What's going on down in Kobe, Japan with that earthquake relief? They might break in with the latest happenings in Washington, or the latest body count in South Central L.A., but usually O.J. takes the spotlight for both the local and national news. Notice that O.J. doesn't preempt the weather, or the sports, or the entertainment news!
Despite a recent poll showing waning public interest in the Simpson case, the newscasters continue to hype and overhype this story. Why? For money, power, ratings? Or could it be that they are trying to supplant the American system of jurisprudence?
Let's take a look at the Rodney King case. Here was a case in which policemen beat a black man who was resisting arrest. Media hype and attention escalated racial tensions into a full-scale riot.
Why blame the media? A jury, based on evidence presented to it, found the officers involved--not guilty. Any one who had watched the trial on television would have known that the representation on the news was far from accurate. They represented damaging testimony against the defense as far more potent than it actually was. Conversely, they lauded the prosecution for scoring points when in reality, the prosecution failed to reach the jurors.
When the verdict was delivered to the public, one reporter from KNBC-TV invited the black population to revolt. She expressed confusion as to why the streets were not yet overrun. Within an hour, Reginald Denny lay bleeding in the street, pulled from his truck by an angry mob.
One black woman, not involved in the Denny incident, but nevertheless involved in the riot, made reference to that reporter as the reason she was on the streets. How many other rioters heeded the call to "come on down"?
Throughout the riots, media reporting was strictly one-sided. They played and replayed the tape of King's beating. They even played it on advertisements for the news. And how did Rodney King fare from this? Last time I heard, he was awarded 3.8 million dollars from the City of Los Angeles in punitive damages.
By using manipulation, deception, and dramatization, the media has the power to control public opinion. The impact is obvious. Where will this end? With another deadly, destructive riot, perhaps? Or will it end with the destruction of American values as we know them?
Is there a solution to this? Not really. Any tampering with freedom of speech undermines the Constitution. It would also be un-American. The only influence we can have on how the media presents the news is to deny them the power to form our opinions. There is a little button on the television set marked "OFF", and you would be surprised how well it would work.
Without influence or the power to tell us how to think, the media would be forced to alter its tactics. I refer you to the recent elections as an example. Faced with a total repudiation of his programs by the public, President Bill Clinton was forced to alter his methods and stated goals. It was the little "OFF" button called Republican Takeover of House and Senate that had this effect. By "turning off" the Democratic congress, the public showed that they were dissatisfied with the way things were run, and that their opinions were not formed from the press.
If we could channel this dissatisfaction and turn it on those who would manipulate us--there would soon be changes. Television and other media are, after all, dependant on making money. If the flow of money is stopped, they would have to alter to survive.
This is a pleasant dream, but not a probability. We are too attached to the tube. While cable television, books, and newspapers are alternatives, many people can only afford the other Big Three. It all goes back to personal responsibility. As citizens, we have an obligation to keep ourselves informed and alert. We should all have the ability to form our own opinions. It is our fault we have the news media make them for us.
Copyright 1998 By Jack Mileur. All rights reserved.
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