The past few days of class we've been discussing examples of modern propaganda. One of the main propagandistic phenomena we've been disecting is Fox News. Not to say that CNN is a posterchild for objectivity (Yes, yes, Katie Couric. You successfully boom-roasted Sarah Palin on national TV). In fact, every news network has an agenda to promote, however none diseminate "information" with such irresponsible biases while under the guise of being "Fair and Balanced" as Fox News.
One of the primary characteristics of a propaganda machine is their propagation of falsehoods when honesty is expected from them. As such, the unknowing consumers of-let's say-Bill O'Reily, will believe his words and views to be truth when in reality the consumer is receiving only a selection of truth that leaves them with a negative impression of-let's say-Democrats.
For example....If I said "I saw Obama on TV today, and he was SOBER!", you would be left with the impression that on all other days, Obama is wasted. By stating a selection of truth (because it would be true) as something remarkable, I am implying a negative view of Obama. This is essentially what Fox News does. The danger lies in the reception of this deceptive information as truth. Words are used to harness emotional power and move the audience to believe what is being said (Glen Beck, anyone?) Worst of all, news anchors and talk show hosts can get away with leaving false impressions because of their use of implicative truth. This is what we have defined in class as "epistemically defective", or saying things that have no basis in knowledge.
Well, there are still 3 weeks left in this class, so I'm sure I'll come up with a lot more ways to criticize media. Hooray! And tonight, BE AWARE! If you're tuning in to get News from the Fox network, pay close attention to statements of absolutes. That is your homework. Now go in peace.
Totally not on the topic of your fabulous post, but my initial reaction when I saw the photo of your new BFF was remembering my Dad. He played fiddle, and when with his fellow "Huntsvillians" said "aboot" and "helloo!". I feel there is wisdom in those strings...
ReplyDeleteoh geez. i don't even watch the news anymore. I feel so used every I do. (no matter what "news" source it is) My advice? Ignore the talking heads. Just listen to oprah. she's got the scoop on everything you need to know in life: books, celebrities, fashion, sex, love, celine dion, food, health, scandals, heartwarming stories of "real life heroes", and free giveaways. Sweet.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a news watcher either-i tend to scan Cnn and BBc news on the computer every morning.
ReplyDeleteIf you want blatantly biased news-go get a copy of Britain's Daily Mirror.It's terrible.Talk about dumbing down and propaganda!
Do all your male professors fall in love with you? Or maybe they are all gay and are just trying to get close to Rivers.
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