Barry Levinson's 1997 Film Wag The Dogs

Although many people may like to think of America as a honest and moral nation, it is no secret that artifice has cemented itself as an indispensable skill, exploited by many to achieve their own ambitions. Artifice, characterized through the usage of cunning devices or expedients to deceive others, is often utilized by politicians and organizations to help push their own agendas. As illustrated by Chris Hedges in his social commentary, Empire of Illusion, “artifice” has emerged to become so ubiquitous and essential throughout American society, whether in business or the entertainment industry. Essential, in the essence that without it, people in any industry are more likely to be disadvantaged in achieving their personal goals. In today’s modern world, no area has seen more abuse of artifice than in the field of media and politics. Its common knowledge that newspapers skew reports to their own biases and politicians often tell half-truths to cover-up ulterior motives. Unfortunately, these politicians and media giants hold extremely influential positions in society, and their usage of artifice is extremely damaging to the integrity and accountability within the United States. As a result, the press as well as the general populace must utilize free speech to expose this behavior. Despite the complete immorality of the usage of artifice, such chicanery remains essential for success in media and politics.

Consequently, the political sphere is now being colonised by the media, and politics has begun re-orientating itself to satisfy the logic of media organisations (Meyer, 2002, p. 71). Therefore, the media are active participants in the policymaking process and the ability to stimulate change or maintain the status quo depends on their choice of subject or policy issue and how they frame it. Active investigative reporting attempts to shape policy outcomes, but this does not necessarily mean that it always represents the most successful approach for gaining policy changes (Spitzer, 1993, p. 7). In fact, sometimes passive, straight reporting can have a greater influence on policy choices. When this occurs, media independence is largely bypassed, as the news generated depends solely on the information released (as public relations material) from legitimate news sources. For example, in the United States, White House staff routinely make ‘leaks’ - expressively to influence policy decisions (Davis, 1992, p. 143; Robinson, 2001, p. 948). Robinson noted that journalists regard “leaks… as indispensable to their work” and that they are aware of their use by officials in return for scoops (2001, p. 949).

Power in politics is a person who has the ability to influence a person in terms of their behaviour; however they possess no right to - unlike authority. There are many ways in which a person can influence another’s behaviour; one such example is through coercion. Coercion refers to the use of violence or threats in order to influence someone. [Jones and Norton, 2011]

Power: the political power is the ability to shape and control the political behavior of

Dating back many decades, it appears that lobbying and politics have always gone hand and hand on any political stage. Lobbying has always had a strong presence in the legislation system. Lobbying is the process of offering campaign contributions, bribes, or information to policymakers for the purpose of achieving favorable policy outcomes. Conventional wisdom suggests that lobbying is the preferred mean for exerting political influence in rich countries and corruption in poor countries. The legislation is meant to benefit society and ensure that citizens are having their voices heard, instead of hindering them in favour of the multi-national corporations. Lobbying has a negative influence on legislations in both developed and developing

The controversy surrounding political lobbying does not question the act of influencing public officials, but rather the ethics relating to how these public officials are influenced. It is important to distinguish the fine line between bribery and lobbying. It is illegal to bribe a public official in the United States. This would mean that an individual could not provide compensation to a public official for them to behave, or vote, in a specific manner. Lobbyists may donate money to a specific candidate’s political campaign, but they may only do so when there is no expectation that the public official will behave in a favorable way toward the lobbyist or their clients (Mackinder). Lobbyists may bring public officials, their immediate families, and staff on trips or out to dinner. While it is illegal for a lobbyist representing a corporate client from directly bringing, it is not illegal for foreign governments to sponsor for these said trips (Goldmacher). What has begun to happen is lobbyists representing corporate clients may bring public officials on these trips, if the trip is sponsored by a foreign government. The Senate Office of Public Records reported that $3.23 billion was spent on lobbying in 2013, with 12,300 registered lobbyists. Professor James Thurber, who teaches at American University, has studied congressional lobbying for over 30 years, and does not believe these figures are accurate. He believes

Undue influence-peddling - in which special interests may exercise too much sway over public policy for self-serving purposes, can be a real problem for a democratic society. Democratic government requires legitimacy to function properly, and legitimacy comes from the trust and support of its citizenry. Yet those who practice it seldom attract the attention in Britain that they do in America. In the Commons, meanwhile, the public-administration committee (PAC) has been looking since last June into the impact of lobbying on government decisions. Lobbyists insist that theirs is a respectable business. One reason is that the cash-for-questions affair gave rise in 1994 to a self-regulatory body, the Association of Professional Political Consultants

Now I realise it seems a bit hypocritical of me to attack the media’s representation of a news event when I myself am a part of the hype-generating circus we call mass media. However, the voice of my wise, high-school English teacher echoes in my subconscious that we should always be critical of the texts we consume and conscious of the

M4 - Analyse the effects on citizens and public services of the way that three examples of current affairs have been reported by the media.

The art of deception is an essential skill, especially in moments such as political debates and commercial promotions. In today's society, artifice is a widely utilized skill to persuade the public. The commercial market connects producers to consumers through propaganda which appeals to consumers through elements such as pathos, ethos, and logos. Utilizing these elements, the audience is immediately drawn into the viewpoint of the deceiver. Politicians tried to appear as ordinary and modest as possible to seem more appealing to their audience. But, it can be a deception. As Chris Hedges said in his Empire of Illusion, a story is the best form of artifice because the “consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount.” Often politicians tell stories to create a persona making themselves look more trustworthy.

Manipulation through the media has lead to serious consequences in 1984 and the US today.

As an example politicians may promise the audience special privileges or promote a belief or idea when in fact what they are promoting or promising is nearly impossible or very difficult to achieve. “The reality of the narrative is irrelevant. It can be completely at odds with the facts.” This statement furthermore pushes and explains the actions and behavior of politicians and marketers’.This is factual because throughout past elections most if not all politicians have mislead their audience or promised something that is realistically impossible or too difficult to achieve. Therefore bringing along this reputation of

Americans today tend to consider politicians as corrupt and untrustworthy figures. Political corruption can vary from bribery, money laundering, and even drug trafficking. These criminal actions are typically taken by politicians as motive to gain a personal benefit. Politicians have often associate their campaigns with dishonesty. Over the years political campaigns have lied to the public in order to gain votes. Tactics include newspaper manipulation to dishonor a political rival or to obtain support helping their personal agenda. This bad stigma associated with politicians tends to diminish citizens trust. The image depicted in this assignment is intended to target the issue of politician’s dependability with in the public. The image used in this essay was obtained from Brian Montopoli’s article entitled “Lying politicians: A fact of life”. Brian Montopoli is senior political reporter for CBS News website. Montopli’s article was about the lies politicians make in their campaigns in order to gain votes. The image used in Monotopil’s article was utilized to emphasize his argument. Montoplis’s image demonstrates the problematic issue surrounding political officials. The image seemed like it didn’t have a specific target, but once reading title of the article connected with the image it was made clear that the image represents the troublesome issues with politicians in today’s society. The argument being made with the image was that certain political officials might lie to the

The floods affected much of central and southern Queensland, killing 35 people and causing over $200 billion in damages. This disaster was named as the most notorious flood in Australian history (Carbone & Hanson, 2012). This essay will draw on key examples from Bligh’s performance and spin-team tactics throughout the course of the disaster. As outlined by Louw, there are four key political players–politicians, spin-doctors, journalists and publics (2010). During the Queensland floods, each player had a specific agenda. Journalists worked to create and circulate gripping stories while providing the public with up-to-date crisis information. Spin professionals worked alongside the Queensland Government to fulfil a number of objectives including: public safety, the promotion of Bligh as a competent leader, and to control and minimise any potential negative criticism. Additionally, Bligh also had specific agendas to fill driven by her professional reputation and political popularity. Throughout the crisis, all political players achieved their goals while maintaining a symbiotic relationship, which can be attributed to the success of Bligh’s

Too often, people do not question or challenge the views media presents to us and simply accept the views at face value. Politicians rely on this during campaign elections. The popularity of negative advertisements depreciating opposition parties has grown tremendously over the years because they are often successful. The public embraces the negative media messages, then votes accordingly. Oftentimes, people do not even know they have been acted-upon by the media.