Start by taking a survey similar to those conducted by polling companies and news organizations regarding what issues are most important to you. you can find the survey here.
Next take a look at how your responses and the responses of your classmates compare to national polls here (If you'd like, you you can test your knowledge of recent news based on news quizzes from The New York Times.
Now peruse some of the leading local and national news agencies to browse what they are or are not covering.
Local: The Chicago Tribune, ABC Chicago, WGN, NBC Chicago
National: The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBCNews, ABCNews, CBS News, Politico
Finally please post a comment describing your reactions and reactions to your classmates comments. You can use any or all of the following prompts as a starting point if you wish.
- How does the American media shape the political culture of American citizens today?
- Are the issues that seem to be the most important to you (or to the rest of America) being covered by the media?
- What conclusions can we draw from the way that the issues that dominate the polls and media coverage are similar or different?
I have never been a huge fan of surveys because I think that they tend to be misleading. Sure, they can be useful for opinions on a larger scale but they can also prove to be inaccurate on some instances. So the media, it has a very powerful influence on many. The majority I would say are middle age/older people. The influence that the media posses has been around since what? the late 19th century I believe, when they called it "yellow journalism" instead of "fake news". To be completely transparent, I try to not watch the news or pay much attention to any specific media outlets mostly because I despise the bias that it comes with. I usually get my news to my phone through alerts, and if it the title appears to be something that interests me I may look deeper into it, other than that i don't really pay much attention (I should probably work on that though). It seems to me that conclusions that can be drawn from the polls are that who ever is participating in them is definately a progressive audience. For the most part the topics that I ranked up high are on par with many others, it is nice to see that others agree with some of the issues that I ranked near the top.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on not being too fond of surveys. Often, questions are conveniently phrased to make the survey subjects react or reply in a certain way, which is a complete misuse and waste of the survey at large, as it fails to yield honest responses. I, too, don't rely much on the news or popular media outlets. Many of the current media outlets are undoubtedly left or right leaning, such as CNN and Fox News. Rather than relying on one certain media outlet that agrees with your personal ideologies and political affiliation, as most Americans do, I think it is more useful and beneficial to get a holistic view of current issues and events. Occasionally I'll come across a current event on social media, but a lot of the time, the information also comes from what the people around me discuss. As for the survey that we took as part of this blog, I would say that on most issues I rank with the majority of those who were surveyed.
DeleteDefinitely. I watched Fox Chicago local news this morning. Not too bad so maybe ill start paying more attention to local news.
DeleteTiana Petricevic
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the first question about American media and culture, I think we have a large problem with an argumentative culture in America. In my other class, we just read Deborah Tannen’s “Argument Culture” and it brings up a lot of great points for this discussion as well. Among many points she makes, she mentions how the media feeds into this argument culture by framing things in a “war-like” context to get people interested. We see this in everything. She uses the examples of “War on Drugs”, “War on Terror”, and “Battle of the Sexes”. Two-sides pitted against one another draws viewers and attention which drives advertisers and money. The problem with modern media is that it’s not about the facts or what’s happening; it’s about viewership and advertisers. Do you think this is a problem you see around you? Can you think of any examples of this argument culture around you?
The American media has a great impact on the American political culture. In the age of the 24-hour news cycle, we are constantly being bombarded with breaking news. When I wake up every morning, I have at least five notifications from different news outlets telling me about what I missed while I was sleeping. This is definitely not unique to just America, but what I see in the American media is the partisanship. Most media outlets are known for being either to the left or to the right, and I find it interesting and concerning how your political leanings dictate which news outlets you are more willing to trust. It is true that the media and those shown often in the media tend to control what is talked about in politics. The hot button issue of the moment changes day by day or even hour by hour. One issue that the media has exaggerated greatly is terrorism. American media outlets have participated in creating this fear of the Middle East and Islam that really was not present before. Our media has a great amount of power that most Americans don’t seem to recognize or acknowledge.
ReplyDelete-Sophie Ryall
Alexandra Stamatis
ReplyDeleteAmerican media definitely shapes the political culture of American society today. Everyone is exposed to different media outlets and news sources nowadays. Whether someone gets their news about politics from MSMBC, FOX, CNN, or even Twitter some sort of bias is going to come out of that news article- some making it more obvious than others. In one of my previous classes, we discussed selective attention and motivated reasoning also play very important roles in how different people perceive different news stories. Different media outlets choose what they think is important enough to talk about and cover. They’ll headline stories that they know will draw more attention to them and that will ultimately be beneficial to them – because they are getting the exposure they want. This is a limitation because if something important isn’t being covered, a certain audience won’t be educated or find out about it.
Alexandra Stamatis
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you are saying. The different examples you used to explain our argumentative culture really clicked with me and made me think a lot more about this. When you think about it, media definitely feeds out information that will get a reaction from their audience- which is ultimately beneficial to the source because, like you said, it means more viewers and more money. This is something we can see every day in different news headlines and in news articles.
This is in reply Tiana Petricevic
DeleteA lot of the issues I am concerned with did not appear very often in the various news outlets. I think this is because we are living in a very unusual time regarding news coverage. Most of the news coverage I noticed involved scandles going on in the White House. Everyday there seems to be some breaking news regarding the White House. I know this makes it hard to report on other issues going on. The other factor in this is the press is supposed to be the governmental watchdog reporting to us of any corruption so that we know what’s going on when our government isn’t be so transparent. I also believe the scandals coming out of the White House are some of the most serious problems that need to get reported on and I think the media agrees which is why it is always on the top of their reporting list. Part of the reason some issues are not being covered as much is because of the problems in the White House not much can be done on these other issues. Regardless, the media does try to address current political issues on top of developing issues it’s just that these stories don’t get as much screen time or attention from viewers. Let’s be honest, most of us only pay attention to the top breaking news stories and don’t really try to stay informed about other issues going on around the country or the world.
ReplyDeleteThere is no question that media has played a crucial part in politics and that it has shaped the way we view certain issues. Not only does social media influence our opinions, but it has changed the way political leaders communicate and it has ultimately transformed citizen engagement. I agree with your statement about how recent news has covered stories relating to White House scandals. As I was looking through the different news sites, most of the articles discussed events relating to Trump and the government. While I do think that it is important for the media to serve as a watchdog to inform the public about stuff like this, I would argue that there are also other important events that the public should know about other than relating to the White House. Issues such as education and climate change don’t seem to be discussed as much as they should be. I think that the media is very biased and only covers the stories they think are important.
DeleteI completely agree with your post. I think that our media is way too consumed with Donald Trump. Every day there is a story that involves him or his administration and I think that does tend to take away from other important issues. I mean mass shootings are happening more and more frequently and are getting less and less media coverage these days. However, I also think that this media obsession with Donald Trump is perhaps due to the fact that he is such a nontraditional and controversial president. Even his own use of the media has never been done before with his constant twitter rants and impulsive rhetoric.
DeleteAmerica media shapes political culture in a number of different way. For ex. some media outlets will try and unite Americans on what unites the country and what unites us as citizens. Other media outlets will try and divide the country on the basis of politcal party identification, race, sexual oreintation etc. So basically it all depends what media outlet you are looking at because not all media is the same. The issues that are important to me are sometimes being covered in the news, but sometimes they are not. For ex. the border wall is important topic and get a lot of exposure, but in Flint Michigan there are people who don't receive clean water and that doesn't get as much exposure. So basically its at a 50/50 split when it comes to covering important information. Some conclusion we can draw of the news that dominate the polls and media coverage is that it always has to do with Donald trump. Every time I turn on Fox news, CNN, or MSNBS it is always "trump did this or trump did that". He controls a lot of our news media currently and sometimes it gets tiring. -Egerton Abulu
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that American media has shaped political culture in many ways and that each media outlet is different that has many viewers that perceive information differently. I also agree with your conclusion about how almost every news outlet is covering stories about Trump or things that do not affect my life personally. After taking the survey, I was not surprised that education and health care was at the top of the priority list in national polls. But what I am surprised about is how both of those topics are not covered as much as they should be in the news. After looking at the websites of national news agencies like ABCNews, The New York Times, and more I was only seeing the majority of information about Trump. So I agree it is 50/50 when actual important news is covered.
DeleteHi Egerton,
DeleteI’m happy you brought up Flint, as it’s a great example of how quickly even major issues can fall out of the news circuit entirely. Though Michigan water regulators declared the water to be safe to drink last year, residents continue to report bacteria and lead-laden water flowing from their taps. Flint is suffering through the same dangerous temperatures we are, and many of its residents are doing so without safe water to drink. Despite these issues that persist, the media has largely moved on from Flint, as it is no longer generating the buzz it once did. Recent stories on Flint are hardly treated as front-page news despite even shocking revelations, such as a reported reading proficiency drop of over three quarters among third graders since the poisoning. With the massive influx of 24-hour news available, the media has been forced to continuously produce new content in order to maintain competitive. This constant shifting of information causes many significant stories to fall between the cracks for those who are not directly involved.
- Nora
The American media shapes the political culture by feeding a liberal or conservative narrative to the general American public. With whatever political party you align yourself with, you will seek out news sources that confirm your predetermined conceptions on issues. I don’t have an answer for why, but I feel people want to be reaffirmed in their beliefs. As a result, I feel the American public doesn’t get a fair understanding of the issues on a wide political spectrum because of party biases; however, this is natural for all news sources. The only way to be truly balanced is to have the self-discipline and listen/watch a variety of different channels to hear different stances. Yes, the issues that are most important to me are being covered. However, I have noticed that Americans care very little about issues abroad, this is exemplified with the amount of time spend reporting political issues abroad. When watching an international news channel, say BBC for example, you hear about news, business ventures, and other politics from all over the world; we don’t have this and I wish we did. This draws to the fact that Americans are self-centered and concerned with their own grievances and political issues. I think the increasing polarization instills a fear in democrats and republicans that their agendas will be racially modified. Thus, leaving the politically engaged public to discuss and debate more intensely for the issues or benefits they deem most fit. Yet being a student with international ties, I understand how important American politics and economics is to the rest of the world. That being said, American news channels are justified for focusing on our internal affairs as opposed to international ones. I just wish with growing international liberalism we could hear more from around the world on the news stations we regularly listen to.
ReplyDelete-Angelo D'Agostini
The media coverage in American definitely affects American political culture in several ways. One way that I personally believe the media effects political culture is in regard to polarization. Finding an unbiased news article is challenging as they tend to lean either left or right and thus divide the country on political party identification. This tactic makes the polarization, that is already very prevalent in society, even worse as it creates an echo chamber. I think something else that is an important aspect of how the media affects political culture is how easily accessible information is to get. Twenty-four hours a day for seven days a week you can look at the news and see what is going on in regard to politics. This affects American political culture in that we are more in tune with what is going on in the country and it seems to always be a topic of conversation, or a breeding ground for arguments. The different media outlets also control what is covered. They tend to cover certain topics more than others as a means to attract the attention of readers so they get the exposure that they want. I believe that this is a problem because the media has a tendency to over-dramatize events or problems and this leads to other important events not being covered or discussed.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Triefenbach
American media shapes the political culture of American citizens by showcasing and featuring only certain things. They don't give everything equal coverage or significance, which influences Americans. Most rely on media for their information and news, and if something is not actively covered, how would they know about it otherwise? The issues that are most important to me (Education, HealthCare, Climate Change, Abortion) don't seem to be as covered as the budget, taxes, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe major issues that surface in the polls tend to dominate in coverage, while the lesser talked about evils don't get as much coverage.
-Paulina Michael
Reed Vaughan
ReplyDelete1/30/19
After taking this survey I was not surprised to find that things like Education and Healthcare seem to be a priority now. I believe this to be the case because there has been a lot of shifting on these two issues in the recent political climate. Consequentially, this has led to the news media being saturated in these two topics which has focused the public conscience on these issues. One downfall I have found with mainstream media is that it is very immediately focused. Often media tries to get the most current news out as fast as possible. This creates two issues: 1] This may affect the accuracy of information and many times leads to sensationalized news. 2] Mainstream media seldom covers “long term issues” such as climate change, infrastructure, foreign relations and trade. Most news networks use short-form dialogue which allows most people to take in a lot of small snippets of information quickly and create their own idea. Even when these “long term issues” come to the forefront of media attention it can be very inaccurate and sometimes misleading and bias.
I think the American media has a very large impact on the political culture of American citizens. I think the media has always had a rather large impact. The media services as the watchdogs and its duty is to call out any wrongdoings by the government. Instead, the media is polarizing with news outlets coming together on very few issues. I think issues that are important do get glazed over for issues that will bring in a larger audience. Media outlets focused heavily on the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, but there were a number of issues, such as the tariffs Trump imposed on Chinese goods, that were also occurring at the same time that Americans did not focus on. I believe the issues that garner media coverage are the ones that dominate the polls and can also be polarizing issues. That way media outlets gather a greater audience because Americans want to pay attention to these issues. -Hannah Rhodes
ReplyDeleteThe media plays a very big role in shaping political culture in America. Its not just important because its a media outlet but because they have a large role in controlling what the news actually is. Whether you want somethng else to be talked about or not doesnt matter because the media determines what gets air time and what is published. The are also important in impacting our political culture because there are so many differnt media outlets to get information from and people tend to listen to information that supports what they want to hear and it creates more of a speration amoung the people . Some of the issues that I found very important were things that were not typically a popular issue to the media.Its seems that a lot of the issues that are important to the media are issues that seem to issues that the two parties dont agree on to get people watching the news more.
ReplyDeleteThe American media acts as the greatest influence in shaping our political culture because the stories published by news outlets control the conversations of the population. The media acts as the liaison between our elected officials and the citizenry. We are living through particularly turbulent times and this has created a surplus in stories coming from the white house which has consequently led to the decline of news about other pressing issues. I believe that the mainstream media is covering a good portion of the issues I care about. I'd like to see more stories outside of the Trump administration but I think it's important to recognize the primacy of the issues in the white house, given the fact that the scandals surrounding the administration need to be dealt with before we can turn our focus to other things. The conclusions I think we should draw from what the polling data tells us and what is actually being covered by the media is that certain issues have higher urgency than others and media outlets will always try to publish stories that will be popular because they have to make money.
ReplyDeleteThe media shapes our political culture far more now that the way we consume media has change. The amount of media sources has grown, but the ones that we are exposed to are a narrow range. Because we are often trapped in media bubbles and only consume content that reflects and reaffirms our own beliefs and the ideas we have been exposed to, our political culture is more directly affected by the media. Because the way we consume media has changed, the content has also changed. Now that we have more choice when we consume media, news outlets have had to change the way they present information and the actual information that they present. Many outlets have to publish what will drive clicks or boost ratings. One clear example is Buzzfeed, they crank out content that is just meant to be entertaining and they do this to fund the serious journalism and reporting that they also do. We can also see this with the 24-hour news cycle and how a lot of stories are talked about for a day before being forgotten. With the 24-hour news cycle, a lot of the stories revolve around the drama of politics rather than the issues that actually affect people.
ReplyDelete-Anusha Jayaprakash
The media has essential role in our political culture especially in agenda setting. The topic that get the most coverage on media outlets are typically the topics that most Americans feel are the most important. Our class being mostly made up of political science majors I feel like the majority of us care about all political topics. While some of us may prioritize certain issues that affect our specific communities we care about everything that is going on in our government. Looking at the New York Times online layout it seems as if this week it is focused on international topics which I believe most typical Americans do not really care about. I believe it is essential to understand global matters because it affects the United States in one form or another. I took a class last quarter that highlighted the effects of American imperialism in Latin American countries so I am always specifically interested in what is going on in Latin America. I believe that American media is covering foreign issues but not to the extent as it is covering other issues.
ReplyDelete-Karen Marin
Media is very important in our daily life. We use it all the time from checking the weather to reading current events. It is always important to know what the agenda is of the media, when reading their articles. With that in mind, it is important not to be in a media bubble and to surround yourself with multiple media sources. Many Americans are stuck in a media bubble, it feeds the division between everyone. Fox News and other media outlets helped fuel the mass hysteria before the midterms over the migrant caravan that was weeks away from the southern border. Fox News fueled the idea that the United States was under attack and was at risk of losing its way of life and its identity. There was no threat. This example is a clear way in which the media plays a pivotal role in our democracy. It is also important to understand that it is almost impossible to give unbiased news. With fake news being so prevalent in our everyday lives, it is equally important to fact check the media and to look at multiple sources.
ReplyDelete- Jeff Rios
The American media has held a tight vice over the population for years.
ReplyDeleteAs I described in my presentation regarding Venezuela Tuesday, western media can be particularly swayed towards one idea or another--in this particular case, many US media outlets frame the US intervention as a necessity. For years, our media has furthered a particular narrative, which is why it's so important to take in information from various sources.
After reading through various posts by my classmates I have to say I completely agree with many of the general observations here. One thing I'd like to point out is I too don't really care for surveys because I think often times the wording of said surveys and the difficulty that comes with trying to narrow down your opinions into one of the options makes results difficult to serve as a true gage of people's beliefs. I think media has played a crucial role in modern day society's development, but I'm not so sure that it leans entirely negative or entirely positive. I think many of the issues that get the most coverage don't necessarily reflect the most pressing issues in our society and our country today. To me, it seems more about the drama or the scandal that individuals can create, rather than focusing the attention on pressing issues that demand the attention of citizens. I think this all has to do with the media-image obsessed society we live in, and how people would rather focus on superficial arguments than truly face the issues of the country head on.
ReplyDeletePosted for Anna (on time):
ReplyDeleteAmerican media definitely shapes the political culture of American society today. The media has always had a huge influence since the time newspapers began to be published We live in the age of the 24-hour news cycle so there’s never a shortage of “breaking news.” People tend to get a lot of their news from sources like FOX and CNN, so anyone who doesn’t question the information they are being fed may become misinformed because those sources tend to be very biased. Despite their clear bias though, people gravitate towards these sources because they have eye-catching headlines and tend to present information (whether it be completely true or not) in a dramatic way which keeps the reader’s attention. While there are a lot of very credible, generally unbiased new sources, they tend to only be read by those who are actively searching for political information. A lot of people choose the news sources they get their information from based on their own political leanings (left or right.) Also, because news sources want attention in order to generate revenue, a lot of them tend to exaggerate issues in order to get people to watch or read. For example, the media tends to exaggerate the threat of terrorism because they know people will want to hear about it. This has contributed to the extreme Islamophobia that has circulated the nation since 9/11. The media can only affect us if we let it so as a society, we must recognize the huge impact it has on us and question the information we are being presented with. -Anna Starobinets
I think American media has a great effect, especially the media one chooses to consume. It's very rare to consume something completely without bias, people tend to follow news that agrees with their outlook, a conservative would definitely not follow the Guardian just like a liberal would not seek out Fox News. I think people find their values and find the media that caters to that. I feel like a lot of issues are covered based on their relevance to the American public, ie the current Russia investigation or something that is being debated in the government, for example there was a lot of coverage on gun control around the time of the Parkland shooting. But it seems to be only covered when an event happens that includes the relevance of the topic. Things soon fade from the news as new stories happen every day, typical cycle. For me I care a lot about climate change, and that is hardly ever covered, unless there is a hurricane or a storm like the current polar vortex, but it is very glossed over.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the topics I care about get the kind of attention it deserves. Often times the media portrays the most sensationalized and decisive news. As a result, I and others tend to stick to the media outlets we know agree with our bias, or pander to the news we like to see. Media company's are like any other business looking to make a profit, so what is their goal? To inform the public or make money-- those goals don't always coincide. It's difficult, most people are watching hyper-nationalized political coverage when they likely care about more local issues.
I agree with the sentiment that most media outlets are very partisan and lack the neutral stance that is important for journalism. Furthermore most news outlets claim to be have the absolute truth on a subject. Fox news might say they hold the truth and claim that other news outlets are pushing "fake news". It seems that most media outlets are pushing partisan narratives rather than broadcasting the truth. And often times sensationalize stories in order to catch peoples attention and make a profit. At the end of the day news organizations are businesses and operate in a way that will guarantee them the largest amount of money.
ReplyDelete-Emmanuel Valtierrez
Climate change is the most pressing issue of our time. If we do not reverse our emitting habits within the next decade, our impact on the environment will be totally and catastrophically irreversible. While I would not say that this important issue is entirely ignored by the media, it is certainly downplayed. Even though climate scientists almost unanimously agree that human emissions are the leading cause of emissions, the media feeds into the narrative that there are "two sides" to the potential causes of climate change. This misinforms and divides individuals on an issue that requires a unite front to be successful. Additionally, when they do portray the issue correctly, they do so without any sense of urgency. I fear that the media's downplaying of climate change will cause us to walk passively toward our doom.
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