It’s no new concept that the media plays a big part in shaping how people see and internalize the news reports, magazine ads, radio talks or even music lyrics that become popular beliefs in the world. I have not done personal qualitative research aimed at this topic and cant give stats to my beliefs, but it holds true for me that people (who involve themselves in modern media) seem to let that shape how they communicate with the rest of the world.
Our text talks about news as entertainment and all the bias it creates when dealing with important matters, and how they’re , “almost always chosen for their entertainment value” (Rodman p. 382). And I have to say that I agree, but a more important question could surround the impact that these news flashes could have on younger generations and their morals. The book pointed out an instance where Time magazine asked a number of people on a questionnaire after the September 11th attack, whether we should go to war or not? The results indicated that the majority of people thought it right to go to war, but when a second poll was administered and one of the questions asked was with whom should we go to war with, that same majority of people weren’t sure (Rodman p. 382-383). The leaking of this data, out to the public’s ears could present a huge mess of problems and lead people to believe certain information to hold true when really it is false.
The quality of the news programs has to be entertaining to keep the ratings up, I understand this, and I don’t believe we can blame the news for doing its job as a semi-entertainer. Again, as with many mass communication outlets already discovered thus far I think it’s up to the parents to teach strong morals and boundaries to their children. Letting them know when to discredit something and when to take information at face value.
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