This week on my twitter feed I posted two very different
views on Syria one critical and comedic view held by Jon Stewart and the other
a very somber message presented by Samantha Powers. I also included one political narrative in a
video discussion with Scott Wilson of the Washington Post. In reviewing this material I was reminded of
one of our first posts wherein we attempted to answer the question “why is a
society that is so rich in information populated with people who are so
confused about and alienated from politics?”
The three posts illustrate some of the conflicts that arise out of
journalism and access to information. I
would like to first point out that the Samantha Powers address is not widely
disseminated, nor was the political discourse of Scott Wilson. The only source of information that was
probably viewed by upwards of 20,000 people was Jon Stewart’s, which was an
entertaining and compelling view, if not a completely rounded view of the
issues at large.
The narrative of political events occurring in Washington
was an example of objectivity in journalism, otherwise the subjectivity of
personal opinion and the shaping of public opinion through media outlets can be
clearly seen in both Stewart and Powers monologues. In addition to the use of the media by Obama
through presidential addresses.
The most clearly blatant form of the media being used to
influence public opinion with regard to American military involvement in Syria
can be seen in the many images, and video montages of the children of Syria who
were the victims of the chemical attacks, which has also been distributed by
the American government. It is
interesting to me that these graphic images of the brutal realities and
injuries of these young children are aired freely without displaying warnings
of graphic content. The display of the atrocities
committed on children clearly results in widespread emotional and moral appeal
to Americans. However, it is also
interesting to me that despite our collective moral outrage public opinion
polls on US military intervention indicate a 36% favorability rating.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/164282/support-syria-action-lower-past-conflicts.aspx
I agree with you, the media is trying to appeal to the moral side of Americans. The images and videos that are shown can have significant affect on public opinion. We can take a look at history. During the Vietnam War, when the images of the brutality were shown Americans started favoring the war less and less.
ReplyDelete