Our Media Obsession 1

Our Media Obsession

Michelle Ward

Professor T. Maurer, STS 201

Farmingdale State College

Our Media Obsession 2

The creation and development of technology has had an impact on the world that no one could

have expected. Being from generation Z, it is at times hard to imagine a life without technology since it is

used consistently in our everyday lives. Nowadays, society tends to lean on technology and media as a

tool for their social and political education. Platforms such as television, social media, podcasts, and

radio stations have become a main source of conveying news to the public. The explosive growth of

electronic media is a prime factor in influencing the public in ways that could lead to positive or negative

consequences for government institutions and political leaders.

After an interesting and unconventional campaign with former first lady, Hilary Clinton, Donald

Trump was victorious on becoming the 45 th president of the United States. By being able to

communicate with supporters through instant feeds like Facebook and Twitter, he won over millions of

Americans. He strategically avoided traditional campaign approaches such as press conferences and in-

person interviews and replaced them with tweeting or posting a status update. Social media gave him a

direct and stable connection with the main people he was trying to appeal to initially. Donald Trump

severs communication between certain sources, which he tends to call “fake news”. “In the period

around the election, fake news sites received about two-thirds as many Facebook engagements as the

38 major news sites in our sample (Facebook and Twitter). Even after the post-election decline,

Facebook engagements with fake news sites still average roughly 60 million per month” (Allcott, 2019).

These statistics demonstrate how data on social media engagements can be used to understand media

exposure for the average user. Social media and news network engagements create an interesting

tension between knowledge and popularity. In an election, the media may or may not have the

incentives to show an honest portrayal for each candidate's background or record. When most people

pay attention to the potential policies attempting to be implemented by these candidates, the media
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investigates the backgrounds of such elites to expose potential scandals. Voters today rely on the media

to probe into candidates’ lifestyles and secrets. “Parties face a tension between opposing temptations of

pandering to the voter and courting the media” (Chakraborty & Ghosh, 2016). However, this also means

that politicians have an incentive to be in good standing with the media. Candidates on every level of

government are pondering whether to fulfill the voters' interests or creating strong relationships with

the elite in hopes the networks will prefer them. Depending on the network, the public will transcribe

favorable coverage as a positive sign about the candidate's character and potential. When the public

comes across a news story that brings upon negative feelings or opinions, the opposing public will only

remember that adversity. “A recurring media theme during President Obama’s presidency is that Obama

has not represented his party’s interests, such as on the issue of tax cuts. However, press coverage is not

consistent with research demonstrating that party leaders keep campaign promises at least two-thirds

of the time” (Spiral of Cynicism, 2010). The diffusion of misinformation through news networks and

social media can ultimately be a potential threat to political leaders, democracy, and society.

Today in America, there are a plethora of opposing political groups with a "hand" in mass media

outlets, especially right- and left-wing groups. “This makes the media a unique industry, in that it not

only provides people direct utility through consumption of its services, but also provides indirect utility

by improving the quality of government through its monitoring role” (Kennedy, Pratt 2018). Unfavorable

effects come from an increasing demand in news sources and political accountability. Certain allegations

by popular media and political figures have suggested that media sources like CNN and MSNBC show

"left-wing news", which are most likely in favor of environmental laws, government services, and tax

increases on the wealthy. Fox News and the New York Post are considered “right wing”, with views

relating to decreasing government involvement, personal responsibility, and strong border security.

“The central new results in this paper (“Bias in Cable News”) are that the Fox News effect in presidential

elections grew from 2000 to 2008 because of a combination of increasing viewership and increasingly
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conservative slant on Fox News” (Martin & Yurukoglu, 2017). News sources can partake in biased

reporting due to the demand for biased news and accommodate the views of their bosses or owners.

The respective media outlets of “left-wing” and “right-wing” news report the same situation or event

but in an opposing light. This creates a negative relationship between the different news stations and

social media websites. For example, a 2003 survey showed that, “there were significant differences in

the presentation of information on US television channels. Fox News viewers were most misinformed

about the Iraq war. Over 40% of viewers believed that weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq,

which is the reason used by the US government to justify the war” (Hamborg, 2018). Distorted news

manipulates the public into either feeling strongly about their views or not having any feeling towards

them at all. Some views from news stations are viewed and labeled as "liberal" whereas the opposing

view is considered "conservative”. To the ordinary American, there seems to be a large amount of media

outlets attempting to bring them the best and fastest news coverage. Although there may be many

outlets, large corporations dominate the media market today and strongly influence their respective

stations, distorting the content fed to the public. According to the Federal Communications Commission,

they receive "a wide variety of comments and complaints about the accuracy or bias of news networks,

stations, reporters or commentators in how they cover - or sometimes opt not to cover - events"

(Broadcast Journalism, 2019). Although they can prohibit agencies from engaging in censorship or

infringing on the right of the press, they can’t interfere with a broadcaster's selection and presentation

of news or commentary. News networks and social media can be manipulative to the user, and the

subject. Subjects such as politicians could use the media to their advantage by embracing what the

public loves about them.

Political parties prosper and flourish when they can manage the media and successfully promote

their candidates and causes. Publicity within newspapers, televisions, and social media websites can give

the impression that a party is active and influential which attracts financial contributors and supporters.
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“Especially in democratic societies, unrestricted access to unbiased information is crucial for citizens to

form their own views and make informed decisions e.g., during elections” (Hamborg, 2018). Politicians

use a variety of strategies to control the agenda of the media such as press releases, appearing on

television and radio shows, and attending interviews with journalists. Former Vice President, Joe Biden

portrays dominance and control in a recent interview conducted by CBS News regarding his presidential

candidacy for 2020. He states to the interviewer Margaret Brennan, “Look, I am not going to do the

pontificating about, you know, I’m not a pundit. I’m a candidate” (“Transcript: Joe Biden, 2020”). In this

interview, he attempts to re-direct the interview to his specific goals and political agenda rather than the

interviewers. To many popular politicians, there is a balance to remaining transparent but authentic in

how you engage with social media and in face to face interviews. For example, on Instagram Senator

Kamala Harris consistently posts photos and videos from events that are applicable to her platform and

meaningful to her life. Positive feedback is returned by "liking" the post or commenting. The picture

posted shows that she personally cares about the cause and it gives her an opportunity to be personable

with her followers. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is another prime portrayal on how social

media can improve campaign results and communicate a message to the public. She utilizes the social

media website Twitter to demonstrate her knowledge and experience of Bronx and Queens related

issues. She also uses this platform to retweet and highlight her endorsements. "By articulating her

actions and strategies in various types of tweets in her social media campaign, she was able to bolster

her campaign online, all while fundraising and spending $2.6 million less than her opponent, Joe

Crowley" (Lewinstein, 2019). Ocasio-Cortez uses different forms of media to connect with her audience

and let them know that she was once affected too by the hardships many face today. Her tweets show

her strength in putting events, stories, and issues into educational and comprehendible statements. The

media has a great deal of power in transcribing American politics today. Since the media is driven by

profits, social media and news outlets can show people information they might want, but not necessarily
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the important information that need. In contrast, the media can serve as a positive platform for

communicating political agendas, gaining support from voters, and educating the public on controversial

issues.

For some people, it can be hard to imagine a life without your phone and updating your family

and friends on your social status. The advancement and development of technology has had an impact

on countries all around the world that nobody could have predicted. Politicians, educators, students,

and parents rely on different types of media for their social and political education. Social media,

podcasts, radio stations, and televisions have become the main source of conveying public news to the

masses. These technologies can bring upon positive or negative consequences for the people and

political leaders, however, electronic media will be a prime factor in influencing the public for decades

to come.
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References

Kennedy, P., & Pratt, A. (2017). Where Do People Get Their News? SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:

10.2139/ssrn.2989719

Transcript: Joe Biden on "Face the Nation," February 23, 2020. (2020, February 23). Retrieved

from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-joe-biden-on-face-the-nation-february-23-2020/

Allcott, H., Gentzkow, M., & Yu, C. (2019). Trends in the diffusion of misinformation on social

media. Research & Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168019848554

Complaints About Broadcast Journalism. (2019, December 27). Retrieved from

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/complaints-about-broadcast-journalism

Hamborg, F., Donnay, K., & Gipp, B. (2018). Automated identification of media bias in news

articles: an interdisciplinary literature review. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 20(4), 391–415.

doi: 10.1007/s00799-018-0261-y

Chakraborty, A., & Ghosh, P. (2016). Character Endorsements and Electoral Competition.

American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 8(2), 277–310. doi: 10.1257/mic.20140241

Martin, G. J., & Yurukoglu, A. (2017). Bias in Cable News: Persuasion and Polarization. American

Economic Review, 107(9), 2565–2599. doi: 10.1257/aer.20160812

Lewinstein, J. F. (2019). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A Case Study of Social Media as an Agenda

Setting Tool in the U.S. House of Representatives. Claremont Colleges, 1–56.

Cappella, J. N., & Jamieson, K. H. (2010). Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good.

Oxford, EU: Oxford University Press.