- What sources of media (movies, news, TV, music, friends on social media, other...) are most influential in your views about politics and policies? What are most influential nationally?
- How would you compare the impact of media on the American public in comparison to other forces we have discussed like education, our families, religion, government, etc.?
- What could be done to help American media be more helpful to political culture in the U.S?
Sunday, February 3, 2019
For Class on 2/7 (Due 2/6 at 8pm): Media Matters
Due to our missed class last week due to some historic cold we are extending our discussion of media through this week. As a result, I'd love to build on your discussion of last weeks blog here. You described the issues that you think are most important last week and how well (or poorly) they are being covered. Now I would like to hear about how media affects your views and American culture broadly, and our political culture in particular. This is particularly useful on one of the biggest media weeks on the calendar. We have the most watched television event each year (the Super Bowl) and the most watched political event, the Super Bowl of Politics, the State of the Union on Tuesday night (I know you are excited). So thinking broadly about media, and its effect on our individual, collective, or national views...
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I used to actively engage in political debate on Facebook, especially during the 2016 election cycle, but while I still scroll through Facebook sometimes to read some of the political articles and posts, I don’t really debate my views because I find that it usually doesn’t produce any positive results. People just get angry, but no one’s opinions actually change. I find that watching the news on various channels, CNN and Fox News being amongst them, along with reading articles from the New York Times, Politico, and Bloomberg, helps me keep up with the flow of political information and gives me an idea of how people on both sides of the spectrum are looking at various issues, allowing me to then come to my own conclusions. Discussing politics with my dad, and hearing his perspective, also influences my views at times. I feel that the media people consume builds onto the influences of the environments in which they were raised in, and ultimately determines their political beliefs. Having said that, I think the media definitely plays the largest role in influencing the American public because it is so easily available and anyone who doesn’t have a large amount of political knowledge can easily be “tricked” by biased or falsified information presented to them. The ideal way to make media more helpful to political culture would be to ensure that all the information put out to the public is true and unbiased, and to also have a well-informed public who will be able to weed out “bad” sources. However, I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation so the only thing I really believe we can do is encourage people to fact check the information they consume.
ReplyDelete-Anna Starobinets
I really liked what you had to say, I thought it was really practical and thoughtful. I would also agree that social media is definitely one of the most influential sources when it comes to politics. Obviously, I think using social media as a source to get news information is dangerous. I find cites like Facebook guilty of allowing false and dangerous propaganda an outlet. This why I agree that these cites should regulate the content that is allowed to be posted because unfortunately there are a lot of uneducated people out there who are unable to identify rhetoric. However, this is a two way street and the people who blatantly believe what they read with out fact checking are just as guilty of continuing this cycle. There needs to be pressure on both social media and the consumers to create fact supporting news environment.
DeleteTiana Petricevic
ReplyDeleteI, guiltily, have to say that I get most of my news on social media. I’ve been trying to get better, but I’ve grown up with social media, and I usually just default back to it. A lot of the time too I will find myself just wanting to know what happened, logging onto twitter, and just getting a quick 140 characters about the issue from someone who I don’t even know. When I type it here, it sounds ridiculous. To trust someone (who may not even be who they say they are) who has no credentials, no history, and no education on how to report issues, yet here I am doing it still. I know I’m definitely not the only one of my peers to do this too. Realizing my problem, I have started to read a couple of stories a week from BBC News. I find that when I’m finished, I feel like I have more to contribute to conversations, and I feel like an overall better citizen.
I find myself doing this too! Although I try to use the New York Times a little more, I still find myself heading back to twitter to see a nice combination of funny things and political news. I follow news sites on twitter but I believe they only post "retweet worthy" headlines and then all the small "boring" things are left unseen. It's a pretty big problem that the general population gravitate toward the more "entertaining" news. I also have downloaded a couple news apps like NYT, ABC7 Chicago, Washington Post, AP News, etc and instead of actually clicking on the app, I get my news from whatever notifications pop up. And that especially is based of "breaking news" stories rather than informational.
DeleteAlexandra Stamatis
ReplyDeleteThe sources of media that are most influential in my views about politics and policies are I see on social media like Twitter and Instagram, along with news outlets like MSNBC, the nightly local news, New York Times, and little segments I see on late night tv about major political headlines happening in the news. I think that since different forms of media are so easily accessible to so many people, people turn to the first news source available to them to get their information, and I know I also do the same. I find myself on Twitter every morning looking at different tweets celebrities have posted the night before. When it comes to researching for school or when I actually want to read into something in depth, I turn to sources with actual facts. Media nowadays is biased, whether we think it is or not because everyone has their own opinions. People look for sources of media that already reassure their preconceived notions about that topic: motivated reasoning.
I would say there aren't really any media outlets that are influential on my views on politics and policies. For me, I have my own beliefs and I keep them to myself. Those that have other opinions besides mine I don't view as wrong but I also don't view them as right-- I view them as other opinions. That is something I think the media gets really mixed up with these days, as to many individuals my age. People take media OPINIONS as facts, and use them to shape their own opinions. For me, this is not something I ever understood, so I choose to distance myself from most media pertaining to politics. Furthermore, I was raised in a house hold where religion, politics, etc were not things to shout out in conversation or ice breakers. Because of this, I am able to take a very third party view on politics rather than getting as emotional or passionate as many others I've witnessed through my years in college do. I think American Political culture would greatly benefit from more FACT reporting within the media, rather than sensationalized or celebrity-endorsed rants. To me, I think we should make the media outlets a bigger tool of education about politics, rather than somewhat of a dramatic reality TV entertainment. Kids are so young and impressionable that I find it disappointing to hear such false and somewhat humorous beliefs or stereotypes being thrown around about individuals of each party taken as true to those in younger generations.
ReplyDeleteI think in the age of Trump, I've seen more political messages in movies and television shows that celebrate inclusion and power. That said, as an avid political junkie of sorts, I'm tuned into several podcasts daily that impact my news literacy as well as how I view what is going on day to day. I also get most of my news from Twitter(ouch), which I understand probably isn't ideal, but I do think since I follow a lot of political figures and journalists, I get more information via twitter than if I would, say, from facebook click-bait articles which I see all the time when I go on facebook.
ReplyDeleteI think for media writ large to do better for the American people, we need to see investments in local news gathering, social media companies doing a better job at fact checking, and for outlets to hire a more representative workforce. In newsrooms across the country, their staff is not representative of the body politic they are covering, which I think undermines their ability to tell full, accurate stories and does a disservice to readers.
Donald Trump says that the media is the enemy of the people. At times I do believe this, but then again the outlets that support him are no better. They all have a huge influence on everyday life, from CNN, Fox, MSNBC to Twitter and Facebook. They all suck. The most influential I would have to say is the Washington Post, and to back that statement up we cannot go too far back, they were the only outlet who had a commercial during the super bowl and in my opinion was stole the night cause the age was a snoozer. The impact the media has on everyday life of individuals undeniably exceeds anything except for family. Family is the best equalizer that we all may have. The media is not going to change their tactics anytime soon, however i don't think that there is much they can do to be more helpful for American political culture, It is actually to the individual citizen to seek out facts.
ReplyDeleteAnd no I’m not a Trump supporter for those that are wondering
DeleteThe Game* was a snoozer.
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ReplyDeleteI think the newspapers I read and the shows I watch have a lot of influence. I've been watching Stephen Colbert, and John Oliver for as long as I can remember. Although they are informative, they are very liberally biased and I wouldn't consider them news. For actual news I read the NY Times and the Washington Post, which people view as more left leaning papers, but I think they may have shifted that way because of the president and news surrounding him. I also think those famous sources, and things like ABC news/CNN are pretty influential nationally. I think media definitely has an effect on how citizens think, based on what they consume, it could sway their views one way or another, especially if they don't have an opinion or really don't know too much about the subject. If American media wants to be really helpful, I think they should continue to report on the hard stories they do, and continue to be a government watchdog.
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ReplyDeleteI think nowadays the most influential sources of news come from social media and TV. Both of those platforms are the quickest ways that political news is spread to people across the country, whether the news is true or not. I believe that is one of the reason that the Russians targeted social media outlets like facebook when creating fake accounts and posting links to fake news sites like they did in the 2016 election. I do think though that things like education, religion, and family are more important though because they are definitive in shaping personal identities. I believe identity politics is the most definite and strong kind of politics because it is the most hard to change. If I were to compare media influence to the impact of media on identity politics I think of it kind of like a tree and and axe. Media that has opposing views can kind of shuck the wood back further and further, but if you stop that opposite media exposure the tree the grows stronger and stronger. I think that more thought needs to go into media news for media to really be effective. Today media is written off again and again as illegitimate because it is easy to spot a news outlet's bias or agenda based on what they put the most focus and attention on. So putting more focus onto filtering content for quality over quantity would be a great start to making media more effective.
ReplyDeleteSome sources of media that are influential to me is television media and social media. Because I am always on my phone, I have different types of social media platforms. From twitter to Facebook, I have a lot of different ways I can get my news information. I also get my news from different television news outlets. I try to be as unbiased as possible so I like to watch CNN, Fox News, MNSBC etc. The most influential source of media nationally is probably television media. The reason why I say this is because not everyone has access to a smartphone, but most people have access to a television. The impact of the American media to our public is enormous. Without the media, we wouldn't be inform about what is happening around us which in turn can effect how we vote or whether or not we should go school/work. One thing that could be done to help American media be more helpful to political culture in the U.S is too stop covering Trump 24/7. I feel that Americans of tired of all of the trump rhetoric and want to focus on issues that effect them. For ex. mass incarceration, college debt, social injustices etc. - Egerton Abulu
ReplyDeleteIn my view, I think the most influential source of media about politics and policies would be social media and television. Social media has become an accessible source for me when it comes to finding my news about politics because I am always checking my phone. The news is there whether I search for it or not, it makes it easy for me to just read a news headline or read the 140 characters someone shared to get some political information. Social media, obviously, is not the greatest way to attain news so television for me would be the next best thing. I think television is the most influential nationally because not everyone has a smart phone but most people have a television in their home. The impact of media on the American public effects how we think politically, and how we view things in general because of how available the media is to us. To help American media be more helpful to political culture in the U.S I think they should only report on good quality stories and stop focusing on small issues that do not effect us.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the most influential media platform is social media or news outlet websites. I don't really watch television as I don’t have time and I don’t really care to watch the news live. I feel like I get most of the news that I care about, or the major headlines, from news platform apps and the notifications that they send out. I also get a lot of news from social media, however, because most of my family is conservative and, therefore, the posts they share fall under that category, I don’t agree with the majority of what they have to say (yay for no echo chamber!) Something that I believe would be very impactful to the political culture in America would news outlets sharing more fact based articles rather than opinions. I always hear political conversations of people sharing their opinions which is great, however, I rarely hear it backed up with facts. This could correlate to the fact that a lot of news outlets share opinion based articles as fact and such individuals base their beliefs on that and then repeat it in conversation.
ReplyDeleteThe media I consume the most and are the most influential to me are the radio, television, social media, and print. I always have the radio going in the car when I am driving its either FOX news or MSNBC. I have channel 9 news on in the morning, social media I follow multiple news accounts and I read the USA Today. I try to diversify my news as much as possible because I enjoy seeing all the sides to an argument. I feel that the media plays a secondary role in a person life. I fell that people’s core political values are shaped around family religion and education. Once a person has their values then the media plays a role, especially on controversial events of the time. It would help if news outlets had to report of both ends of the spectrum instead of being echo boxes.
ReplyDeleteJohn Milas
The only category of media that I feel noticeably influences my political views is the news, and even then, I’m skeptical as to the extent of that influence. I get most of my news from the email news aggregator TheSkimm – a service I was introduced to by a PR professional several years ago and have been subscribed to ever since. While on occasion I take issue with what TheSkimm’s editors choose to include (or exclude) from their article blurbs and the sites they draw news from, overall, I find it a very useful service for learning about current events. This controlled, limited access to news is a lifesaver in a time when it’s easy to become overwhelmed and depressed from the barrage of information available to us every day.
ReplyDeleteThe media seems to have only a subtle influence over political views. Most media consumers choose what they consumed based on confirmation bias; however, the tools of framing, priming, agenda setting, etc. can still influence consumers within that bias. One area in which the media has a large, noticeable impact on politics is elections. Political candidates need the media to win, but campaign coverage has become increasingly more spectacle-based. Reports on the policy views of candidates are often lost among the more “entertaining” stories relating to candidates and the campaign progression itself. This means that most of the information the average news consumer absorbs during campaign seasons is likely frivolous. As long as this pattern of shallow news reporting goes on, even less heavily biased news sources will continue to provide little substantive information.
- Nora
I deleted my facebook a little over a year ago, but that being said, twitter is by far the most influential information source of any kind in which I get my news, and form my opinion. It’s an information superhighway, and evewrything happens instantly now. There are more reporters, there’s more discourse because everyone has been given a figurative megaphone to voice their opinion. The problem is, it’s an outrage machine. This is because headlines have to be exaggerated or taken out of context in order to fight for clicks, which drive revenue. I view media as something that reinforces your opinion, rather than something that forms it. I believe your political leanings are formed for other reasons, and then because of the overabundance of information, confirmed by what you see or look for on social media.
ReplyDeleteThe media I consume the most is audio media like radio and podcasts but also television. I spend a good portion of my day commuting from place to place so radio and podcast are an essential for me not to get bored and get in some current events and even old events. I think I am one of those people who are easily manipulated but recognize that they are being manipulated by media outlets. I recently listened to a few episodes of the podcast “Slow Burn” season two which is a podcast talking about the Bill Clinton impeachment process and the podcast is very sympathetic (at least in the episodes I listened to) toward Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. I found myself hating Linda Tripp and then I realized it was just because of how the podcast framed her. I had no prior knowledge of Linda Tripp other than she helped the FBI so there was no way I was making an educated opinion on the situation or on Linda Tripp because I had no other information. I catch myself a good amount doing that but maybe not enough. I also really enjoy the Stay tune snapchat show by NBC and every few hours they will update you in a few minutes on what is going on in the world and the United States so it’s very quick facts with no time for the presenter’s opinion. -Karen Marin
ReplyDeleteI would say that the forms of media that influence me most is through social media. At home, we don't even have satellite or cable TV. My parents got rid of our DirecTV subscription many years ago, as our level of television consumption decreased greatly. Now, we tend to watch movies and shows through services like Netflix and Hulu. However, news media outlets still find their way into my life, as I constantly see articles from CNN and NBC appear on my phone. I tend to spend a lot of my free time on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, I know that news directly from these outlets tend to not be the most honest and reliable, so I don't base my whole opinion from what I see or hear from these sources. Moreover, the media is very different from other socializing agents such as family, school, and religion. You choose what media you pay attention to, while things like your family, what primary and secondary schools you attend, and your religion, are often out of your direct reach. Often, those perspectives are decided during your childhood for you by your family. Therefore, I believe that what media we watch, listen to, and read are the individual's decision responsibility, and often the individual's blame.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, I was guilty of putting a little too much trust in social media. I was never a big TV person, but I always got my news from social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. However, I found myself falling victim to way too many fake stories and I realized that those stories were fake because they were clearly sensationalized and the URL of the page always looked pretty sketchy. So I downloaded a bunch of news apps including the Washington Post, NPR and USA Today. Now I get notifications on the major stories of the day and I pretty much just read the headlines and the little bit of description that I get from the notifications. I also have gotten really into podcasts. I think they offer an effective way to be constantly informed on the news since you can listen and do other things at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI think that nationally, TV still dominates because older generations are less likely to be on the internet or on apps so I do believe that TV still holds the power to influence although the internet is a really close second.
The media sources that are most influential on my views are the news apps that I read from. I would read articles from POLITICO, and the WaPo and more recently I have downloaded the FoxNews, AP, NBCNews, and ABC7 Chicago apps to diversify my news consumption to decrease the size of my echo chamber. Nationally, I believe that social media and TV are the most influential because they provide the easiest way to consume news, for better or for worse. When comparing the other political socializing forces we have discussed, I think that the media people consume and their families have the greatest impact on people's views. This is because what is discussed in the household shapes the views of the inhabitants and people are starting to spend more and more time on their phones consuming media so all that time spent online is definitely shaping how people view the world.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way for media outlets to be more helpful to our political culture is to put an emphasis on formal and civil debates between people from all ends of the political spectrum. We need to sit down and talk with one another, face to face, and in a respectful manner if we wish to find common ground with our fellow citizens. Saying whatever you want on social media isn't an impactful way of improving our society.
I would say the media outlet that has the biggest influence would be and news I see on Tv. I say this because this is the way i get my news generally I would say that the biggest influencer are newspapers because they typically set the news agenda. Media has a huge impact on someone life.Whatever media outlet the person watches or gets their news from is going to impact them and shape their beliefs. What the people decide to view really has a big influence on them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that media has a profound effect on the American public. albeit a different effect than family, religion, education, etc. Religion and family play a very important part in shaping our views but i believe that the media has less of an impact in shaping our views but rather entrenches us in the views that we hold. Most social media is subscription based so the news we see is news that would align with our political ideology. Seeing the same ideas being thrown at us again and again reaffirms our beliefs.
ReplyDelete-Emmanuel Valtierrez
ReplyDeleteMedia outlets are generally really influential, but I normally consume politics with my existing viewpoint. I definitely curate the media that I intake, so I am not normally swayed. I am a big fan of listening to news (radio and podcasts). I watch C-SPAN and no other TV news. I find TV news really off putting-- they repeat the same story for hours and are highly sensationalized by pundits. I prefer content by Vox, NPR, and The New York Times. I also get a lot of my news off of Twitter. I follow journalists and really enjoy the ability to be up to date all the time.
The biggest media influence on me is the television. I watch the news every night, so I learn most of my political knowledge there. I would say that the biggest national influence is definitely social media, especially Facebook.
ReplyDeleteMedia is incredible impactful for Americans. Media presents us with all the information and uses framing, priming, and other tools to relay information more effectively than most of the other sources of information that we get.
In order for media to be more helpful to political culture, citizens need to become more media literate. There is no way to regulate the effectiveness of every medium, instead we must ensure through education that individuals can analyze their own media use.
I think in general my main sources of news tend to be the NY Times and the Washington Post. Ever since I set up the alerts for these papers on my phone, I’ve found that I seek them more often than using social media for news. Nationally I tend to lean on BBC, although I do not stay as up to date on international news as much as I probably should. While media is one of the most influential forces of political socialization, I think that family and education together play the biggest role. During childhood and adolescence, most of a student’s life is either in school or at home with family, and it is during these formative years that one establishes their political ideology. Media is also involved in the forming of political ideology, but I don’t think it has quite the direct impact as family and education. I think the major thing that could help American media be more helpful to political culture is educating the population about how to recognize bias and/or learn to detect fake news stories.
ReplyDeleteSo personally, I do not follow the news. I don't have twitter or really use Facebook either, and on Instagram I don't follow any news accounts. The only ways I really find out about what's going on is if someone brings it up to me, I hear about it in class, or through my boss. BUT, I do think for most people, social media plays the biggest factor. I think apps and platforms like I mentioned above are peoples' go-to's for the most part. It's just how we consume it naturally these days. Media is 24/7, so it's hard to walk away or shut it off like we can do with school and education, for instance. If you're part of the apps and platforms, it's ubiquitous by nature. I think that if there were more filters, when it comes to social media, that'd help legitimize it. But, I don't know how that'd play in with the first amendment...
ReplyDelete-Paulina Michael
News websites (CNN, Fox News, NY Times etc.), twitter, my dad, and my political science professors are my main resources on whats going on in politics. Nationally, I would say the most influential sources are facebook, twitter, tv, and the radio. I think the media is has developed to a point where most people can't live without some form of it to get their knowledge (understandably). There are many pro's and con's regarding various forms of media, but given the variety of options, it serves as an accessible way for people to stay up to date.
ReplyDelete- Avarie Evans-Allen
The sources of media that are most influential in my views about politics are media outlets directly. I read the news every day on my phone, and I rarely ever use social media for my news. I would say that most people our age get their news from social media, like Snapchat and Twitter. That is definitely a more accessible way for our generations to know what is going on in the world around us. The impact of media on Americans in my opinion is way greater than the impact of education and families etc. Now more than ever, people of all ages are constantly exposed to news. We are always taking in what we hear and see on the news, on the radio, or even in film. Sure, education, family, and religion are great influencers on our political socialization, but I think that as compared to 50 years ago, media is now one of the great influencers on how we think about our government and political issues.
ReplyDeleteThe most influential media sources are Facebook, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC as well as other sources of social media. These outlets and media platforms play a pivotal role in our views in politics and policies. People get into bubbles and only like to hear what agrees with their own views. Media plays a powerful role in our society because of how much we are on our phones. It is one of many sources that impact our society. Education, our families, and religion also have a great impact on our political views. Everyone has an agenda even if they consider themselves to be unbiased. It is important to surround yourself with multiple sources to avoid being in a bubble. Americans should not have social media like Facebook as their primary source until it is more regulated. It is important as Americans to fact check and to know to what party or ideology a media outlet leans to.
ReplyDelete- Jeff Rios
I believe the most influential sources of media is the following: Facebook, twitter, instagram, cnn, fox news, New York times. This I believe for myself and what the nation relies on. Many millennials like to use social media as their primary source of news. Since society is building a sense of dependency on their phones, everybody get their news from there. I do believe education, family/friends, religion, and social class has a lot to do with one's political values and which source of media one would follow (conservatives watch fox news, liberals watch CNN). I believe the political leaders of America need to be more active on social media so they can instill their values in the public and have more political involvement.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the news media is super effective at dictating the conversation in our society. They are able to choose what topics to report on, they choose what is newsworthy. They are the first step towards our public discourse. We are unable to have conversations about things that we do not know about. Without these sources, we have very little connection to politics, science, and world affairs. It would be very easy for them to bury information and keep it from our consciousness. However, in the current setup, we have very few options other than to trust them.
ReplyDeletePosted for Derek (on time):
ReplyDeleteSince Donald Trump has been President, I have never seen more news articles centered around every aspect of his life. And for me, someone who finds value in articles written by professional journalists with experience and validity, this is impressive, especially considering how well Donald Trump is at pushing his agenda by means on news media. It is unfortunate because the largest influence on me in terms of Media is the news, I wake up and I try to read a handful of articles written by anyone from NYT to Fox and everyone in the middle. What I have found is that news has developed from a much more objective standpoint, pointing out the flaws in a presidents campaign, and most importantly finding facts. Now I feel like all forms of media, especially social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, have devolved in providing you with allegorical content that appeals or strongly does not appeal to Donald Trump. Media has become so dependent upon the Consumer or User that the professionals; the journalists, statisticians, and publishers have lost the drive to chase the truth and would rather provide the content that is allegorical, appeals to readers and not to truth, and gets the ratings they're looking for.
- Derek van Thullenar