American Media and Why Americans Can Be So Uninformed

1
American Media and Why Americans Can Be So
Uninformed
2
The Impact of the Various Media

• Decoding the message
• Visual Images
• Still images
• Moving images
• Aural messages
• Drama series--Dicky, Dick, Dickens
• Written messages

3
Can the Media Manipulate

• Visual manipulation
• Subliminal affect
• Fantasy creation
• Aural manipulation
• Music and consumer behavior
• Written manipulation
• Loaded vocabulary

4
The Concentration of Power in American Media

• Rupert Murdoch
• CensorshipStupid White Men
• NBCGeneral Electric
• CBSDisney
• ABCViacom
• CNNTimes Warner
• Knight Ridderowns over 50 newspapers

5
Uninformed Americans

• Students at prestigious universities scored 53
  on a high school level multiple choice testex.
  When was the Civil War?
• 40 could not name the Vice-President
• 11 read a daily newspaper
• 44 million are functionally illiterate
• Most Americans get their news on TV
• Read books 99 hours/yr watch TV 1460 hours

6
The Media as the Fourth Branch of Government

• The Medias functions are
• To provide the public with adequate information
  to make informed political choices
• To watchdog the political process and keep
  politicians accountable to the public
• To raise political issues
• The question is whether the American media is
  fulfilling this goal.

7
The Necessity of Having Media Which Fulfills this
Role

• Abu Ghraib,
• Guantanamo,
• War in Iraq WMD and al-Qaeda connection
• The Carlyle Group
• Global Warming
• Enron
• Abuse of civil rights the Patriot Act
• George Bush described the Constitution as a
  goddamned piece of paper.
• "It was a shameful act for someone to disclose
  this important program in a time of war. Leak
  to the NY Times/surveillance
• The Wilson-Plame case
• Planting news and journalists

8
American media

• The historical background
• The good news
• PBS
• The New York Times/Washington Post (sometimes)
• The bad news (sometimes)
• The NetworksCBS, NBC, ABC
• Local newspapers
• The horrible news
• Fox, talk radio government disinformation

9
Historical background

• The Puritan influence
• A city on a hillthe new society as a beacon to
  the world
• Good vs. evil
• Right thinking and conformity (un-Americanism??)D
  o Americans want to be informed?
• One nation under God
• Senate 99-0
• House 417-3

10
Historical background

• The American Dream
• Hope for the downtrodden and a source of optimism
  (blind optimism??)
• A belief that the individual is responsible for
  his own fate and should chart his own course.
• There is no such thing as society, only
  individuals and their familiesMargaret Thatcher
• Can a nation chart its own course and disregard a
  global context?

11
Historical Justification for A City on a Hill

• Give us your tired, your hungry, your huddled
  masses, yearning to breath free.
• The USA provided refuge and opportunity for 40
  million Europeans from 1825-1925.
• The USA experienced the greatest industrial
  expansion the world has ever known.
• The USA saved Europe twice.
• The Marshall Plan, the UN, NATO

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Historical background

• The American Dream
• Do we believe in the rightness of our country and
  our right to chart are own course to the point
  that we become totally uncritical to the
  direction of that course and its consequences?
• You are either with us or against us.
• The impact of 9/11
• Is being critical, being un-American?
• How much do we want to know from people who are
  against us including the media?

13
The aftermath of 9/11

• What were the two most bought items the days
  after 9/11?
• Up until 2004,47 of Americans polled felt that
  Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attack
  and 74 felt that he had connections with
  al-Qaeda.

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Broadcast Decency Act

• Bans nudity and profanity on TV
• The fine is up to 325,000 per incident
• The outcry after Janet Jacksons breast exposure
  during the Super Bowl half-time show led to this
  legislation.
• Cable and satellite stations do not face such
  restriction.
• Some live shows are delayed to allow censorship
• Some TV hosts have been fired due to profanity.

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Profanity and Nudity

• What is profanity?
• Bonos exclamation on winning the Golden Globe
  award, Its fucking brilliant, was declared not
  profane as it had nothing to do with sex. Is sex
  profane??
• Are TV stations speculating in sex and profanity
  to increase the dosage to keep their audience or
  are they simply a reflection of real life? How
  real life is Sex in the City?

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Enter commercial media

• BBCs governor once said BBC should provide the
  programming that people should want to watch.
• What is the goal of American commercial media?
• Providing the programming and information that
  people want to watch???

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Conclusion

• An uncritical belief in the rightness of America
  and its right to do (just as it is the right of
  all right-thinking individuals) to do just what
  it wants (naturally with the grace of God).
• The sense that you are either with us or against
  us and in times of war we need to employ
  extreme means.
• Its a shame that the press disclosed our
  surveillance activities because that aids the
  enemy.G.W. Bush
• Pressure on the press to present the right
  version.

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The good news

• PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
• Independent stations which cooperate in program
  sharing
• Funded by viewer and foundation donations
• Non-commercial
• Culture, news, documentaries, series and debate
• The best visual source of informationequals BBC

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More good news

• NPRNational Public Radio
• Independent stations which cooperate in program
  sharing
• Funded by viewer and foundation donations
• Non-commercial
• Culture, news, documentaries, series and debate
• The best aural source of informationequals BBC
• Dont miss Prairie Home Companion
• Tuning inNPR, NPR Everywhere (left hand column),
• NPR Worldwide

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Some good news

• The NY Times and Washington Post
• Critical journalism
• Have disclosed Washington lies
• But, sometimes they wait a bit too long
• Surveillance scandal was known before the
  election 2004why did they sit on it?
• Limited circulation and appeals to an elite

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The Questionable News

• 200 Christian TV channels
• 1500 Christian radio stations
• Questionable?
• These stations are almost always fundamentalist
  and support the Christian rights key issues such
  as Creationism, prayer in schools, and anti-gay
  and anti-abortion issues.
• Where was the press 2008 rigged election

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The Bad News FOX

• The news is biased and verges on right-wing
  propaganda.
• Fox has replaced the networks CNN as the source
  of news for most Americans.
• While 47 of those primarily receiving their news
  from NBC thought that there was a between Saddam
  Hussein and al Qaida, 74 of those primarily
  receiving their news from Fox thought the same.

23
FOX

• A FOX newscaster, Glen Beck said of Obama he is
  a fascist, nazi and marxist.
• Rush Limbaughs undeniable truths
• The earths eco system is not fragile.
• Feminism was established as to allow
  unattractive women easier access to the
  mainstream of society.
• These newscasters play on anti-intellectual and
  anti-government feelings

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Ann Coulter on FOX

• God said so Go forth, be fruitful, multiply,
  and rape the planetits yours. Thats our job
  drilling, mining, and stripping.
• Vester You say you'd rather not talk to liberals
  at all?Coulter I think a baseball bat is the
  most effective way these days.
• My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not
  go to the New York Times building.

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The Media Dilemma

• The shift from the traditional media to the net.
• Reliable newspapers such as NY Times and
  Washington Post are suffering what many paper
  versions are, declining circulation and
  profitswhat will take over their role?
• All sources on the net are not reliable
• News on your cell may not be as in depth, nor
  will you take the time to read an in dept
  reportnews on the go, is not as thorough.

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The Media Dilemma

• New media outcompete traditional and often more
  in depth media such as quality newspapers
• Facebook, computer games, chatting absorb time
  with little or no informative function except how
  drunk you got on Saturday and who broke up with
  whom.
• Are the new media, ego focused rather than other
  forcused or are the interactive and inclusive?

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The New Media as a Democratic Force

• Obamas campaign brought millions into the loop
  and gave them a voice
• Civil rights and consumer action groups can
  spread their message.
• The straight party line has a competitor
• Consumers can access information about products
  they are considering buying.

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Kinda bad news

• The Networks (CBS, NBC ABC)
• Their ownership
• The players, NBC (General Electric) , CBS
  (Viacom), ABC (Disney) Fox (Murdoch) CNN (Time
  Warner)
• Corporation where the bottom line is the deciding
  factor
• Entertainment is the focus on Viacom Disney
• They are intertwined owning stock in each other,
  do joint ventures divide profits.
• Vertically integrated squeezing out competitors.
• News coverage is tending toward sensationalism
• Crime in the U.S. went down 20, but its coverage
  in the TV news media went up 600 recently.

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American TV

• The networks focus--entertainment
• Programming--the diet (talk, soap, action, news,
  public service, sports, sit-coms, games,
  documentaries)
• The message
• Competition
• Style and status
• Glamour and self-absorption
• Crimeblacks, violence and fear
• Middle class conformitya non-critical
  orientation
• Conspicuous consumption

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HBO and Quality TV

• A new trend
• HBO challenges standard American TVs concept of
  infotainment based on standard scenarios.
• Sex in the City, Six Feet Under, Sopranos all
  challenge not only American morality but success
  fixation which characterizes American TV.

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HBOs Advantage

• HBO is doing a disservice to its viewers and the
  American people by presenting polygamy as a valid
  lifestyle choice.a statement by a conservative
  commentator
• Unfortunately, Big Love has a better chance at
  survival than Daniel, because HBO doesnt have
  advertisers to answer to.
• If subscribers want it, they can get it without
  the station fearing reprisals by sponsors.
• Sponsorship flatten and waters down the message.

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American Films

• The original purposemaintaining the Am. Dream
• Film scenarios today
• The struggling loner
• Success
• The happy ending
• Action and violence
• Special effectsthe spectacular

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American Films cont.

• Pushing the button and getting a reaction
• Sex, violence, action, control glamour
• Films are so expensive that they have to grab
  mass audiences.
• Entertainment is valued at the expense of
  reflection.
• Tied in to marketing schemes for products
• Often the contracts with consumer goods producers
  insure the financial success of the film.

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Local press

• Most mid-sized towns and almost all small towns
  have only one newspaper.
• The local editor has a monopoly on the news
• The news is often limited to at best local and
  national news.
• The smaller the town, the greater the focus on
  local news.
• Little latitude for liberal thinking.
• Subscribers cancel their subscription.

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Fox TVthe very bad news
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The horrible news

• Talk shows
• Anti-government attitude
• Conspiracy combined with sensationalism.
• The more controversy, the greater the ratings
• Right-wing emphasis
• The overwhelming majority of the hosts
• Rush Limbaugh Ann Coulter
• 600 radio stations broad cast Limbaugh to between
  15-20 million Americans
• 35 undeniable truths
• Ronald Reagan was the U.S.s best president
• The earths eco-system is not fragile
• Feminism was established as to allow unattractive
  women easier access to the mainstream of society

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American Advertising

• A reflection of American values
• Appeals to self-images Sexines, power, control,
  smarts, carefree life, popularity, happiness and
  status
• Life style The Coca Cola life style
• Coke redefined Santa Claus
• Mono-culture
• Americans have seen ½ million TV ads by the time
  they are 18. Ads can be shown every 8 min.
• Impact world wide--Americanization?

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Advertising

• The U.S. economy is dependent on personal
  consumption
• It represents 2/3 of the GDP and 2/3 of
  production goes to this market.
• Goals
• Need creation
• Insecurity creation
• Image reinforcement
• Consumption as a joy and a necessity

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Advertisings Negative Impact

• After WW II the American economy expanded
• A new working class with rising incomes emerged
• Keeping up with the Joneses
• An extension of conspicuous consumption.
• We are what we own and our status is reflected in
  what we can buy.

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Advertisings Negative Impact

• Advertising quickly inspired the working and
  middle class to use the increasing income to
  consume.
• However, from 1973 to the present, real wages
  have declined, but encouraged by advertising,
  consumption continued.
• How credit cards
• Consumer debt in the U.S. is 2.5 trillion, but
  falling due to increased savingsstagnation

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The Ads

• The excitement of consumption
• The announcers voice
• Being blasted with the necessity of having the
  product.
• The necessity of having the latest product
• The ring about the block in Cambridge, Mass to
  buy the latest sneekers.
• Lines to buy the latest video games
• Keying ads to selected programs

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Political Ads

• Candidates spend hundreds of billions of
• Makes them dependent on donors, many of whom
  expect something for their investment.
• Politicians get tied to special interests.
• Obama avoided this somewhat buy appealing for
  small donations through internet
• Dumbing down
• What political message can be sent in 30 seconds?
  Image creation rather than facts.

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Conclusion

• The best and the worst
• Infotainment
• The 4th pillar of government
• The dangerous gap between power and information

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The video clips

• Attack TV
• Political coverageThe networks
• Scandal and sensationalism
• Winners and losers, but no detail
• Distortion--Fox