Anthony Simmons
Ms. Lusby
English composition
12/1/2016
The Media 's Influence
Can the media really persuade you into thinking a way about a person you have not even meet? The media can make influence you into thinking a certain way about some and also influence a choice that you could have to make about them that could change their life forever. To prove this I have researched into articles that could help me prove that the media can influence these things.
First the media in the form of television can give you a biased opinion on how you view a crime that a person does. Kenneth Dowler has shown that “research indicates that there are mixed results regarding the influence of the news media on creating an attitude of fear among the general public” (Dowler). He is saying that when you watch a crime show on television it puts this idea that anyone accused of a crime is automatically guilty. Kenneth has also shown that “crime is portrayed on television as significantly more violent, random, and dangerous than crime in the real world” (Dowler). This can hurt anyone court case by someone already thinking you are guilty before presented the evidence.
Next in some situation the media can do the opposite from making you think people are guilty for a predetermined idea. Connie L. McNeel has research that proves that majority of the people who live in the united states receive most of their knowledge of the criminal justice system through the media, and most believe that the system
Americans have given up some of their freedoms to be protected by the United States, so they have a right to be informed. In the majority of the all the discussion boards, the classmates agreed that the media creates problems. By giving stories more attention than others, the media creates problems. The media tends to focus more on seriously violent crimes more than missing, or kidnapping cases. According to Champion, in the portrayal of both offenders and victims of crimes in the media there is a "significant focus on high profile crimes as well as societal ills related to crime and victimization" (Champion 2007). In addition, the media reports stories that can make money, and to draw viewership. These are important to the media because without the funding the media wont be able to report from different places across the U.S., and without the support of the public looking them, the media will lose its only audience. The media plays a significant role in public safety by keeping the public aware of crime increase, violence, and fugitives. This allows the community to take action to promote their safety. Americans put a lot of trust into the media in hopes that everything they report is honest and fair.
Media coverage of news events can be disseminated to the general public in any number of different ways and media biases often “reflects certain organizational and/or professional preferences or values” (Bennett 2011, 173). In fact, Lundman (2003) points out “that journalists assess the newsworthiness of homicides occurrences using the relative frequency of particular types of murders and how well specific murder occurrences mesh with stereotypical race and gender typifications (357).” In addition, Johnson (2012) felt that the real job of media was to “create a message that…grabs public attention (62).” In other words, can the media grab the public’s attention and hold it?
The media is an extremely powerful source in society today. Surprisingly, many are unaware of this and choose to believe everything they read in magazines, newspapers and online without actually understanding where this information is coming from. This is a monumental problem in our generation today because like Malcolm X said, the media has the power to make the innocent look guilty and the guilty look innocent. In other words, the media has the power to manipulate our views and perspectives on controversial issues to persuade us to believe their
The media in American society has a major influential impact on the minds and beliefs of millions of people. Whether through the news, television shows, or film, the media acts as a huge database for knowledge and instruction. It is both an auditory and visual database that can press images and ideas into people's minds. Even if the individual has no prior exposure or knowledge to something, the media can project into people's minds and leave a lasting impression. Though obviously people are aware of what they are listening to or watching, thoughts and assumptions can drift into their minds without even realizing it. These thoughts that drift in are extremely influential. The massive impact it
The media is often considered to be biased. The reason for this is because they do not act neutral on the things that they report on. They usually give their point of view and tend to warp the information so it’s easily digestible by the average person. This type of “nugget feeding,” can influence the judgment of some one who has no idea what is going on. The media tends to
For a more adverse effect, the trail of Casey Anthony is a good example of how the media impacted the Criminal Justice System. Lawyer Nicholas Battaglia proposed a new term, “trail by media,” in his article for the Albany Law Review. Essentially, Battaglia proposed that the media had an adverse effect on the Casey Anthony trial by questioning certain finding of the defense, live on T.V., which swayed public opinion. Therefore, when the jury exonerated her, the public was in an outcry because they had come up with their own conclusions, or as Battaglia put it, “In a sense, this crated a “wrongful exoneration” of the defendant because the “armchair jury” had convicted her when the actual jury acquitted” (Battaglia, 2012) A perspective that I had previously not considered was the potential bias that media can represent as a result of either personal or occupational
We’ve all heard it hundreds of times from people that the news and media is overdramatic. That is one of the biggest complaints about the media, but is it true? Scholarly articles have found that the news is in fact over dramatic about crime which induces public fear and may produce many myths about how much crime is actually happening in our society. As a broadcasting major, it is easy for me to see why the news would cover stories in such a dramatic way. These types of stories capture the users attention which means more people will watch your station resulting in advertising spots being worth more which in the end benefits the stations because they will make more money. Popular examples such as the “knockout game” and the Central Park jogger case both show just how much the media has an effect on society, copycat criminals and other crimes. Is the media overdramatic? Does the media cause higher public fear? What myths does the media create?
One problem that plagues us everyday without us even realizing it is media bias. We see it in the news. We see it on our favorite sitcoms. We read it everyday in the paper. Yet, we really don't recognize it when we hear it or see it. Media bias is evident in every aspect of the media, yet the problem is that we don't even recognize it when it is right in front of our faces. Are the impressions that we form about individuals a product of the media? Do we form certain opinions about particular types of people based solely on the things we see and hear in the media everyday without even realizing it? The problem is not only that there is media bias present, but also that we can't recognize it when we see
These examples of how the media negatively impacted the Simpson murder case continued on through the most crucial parts of the case, jury selection. After the media had been talking O.J. Simpson for months and months there was a survey down of the mostly people who would believe O.J. innocent and the results came out that black women would be more likely to believe that Simpson was innocent (Linder). The ending jury pool for this case were eight out of the twelve jurors were black female. In order for anyone one be convicted there must be an unanimous decision of the twelve jurors. With those odds, O.J. Simpsons chance of receiving a fair and unbiased trial become very slim. The juror pool already greatly favored him and was a huge way why he was found not guilty even though facts suggest otherwise. Polling was done on
The media in American society has a major influential impact on the minds and beliefs of millions of people. Whether through the news, television shows, or film, the media acts as a huge database for knowledge and instruction. It is both an auditory and visual database that can press images and ideas into people's minds. Even if the individual has no prior exposure or knowledge to something, the media can project into people's minds and leave a lasting impression. Though obviously people are aware of what they are listening to or watching, thoughts and assumptions can drift into their minds without even realizing it. These thoughts that drift in are extremely influential. The massive impact
I believe the media plays an important role of shape understanding of crime and the criminal justice system when we were young. When we were just children, everything new could affect and change us easily, just like writing on a blank paper. I saw some cruel crime cases on news and sometimes it really made me afraid. For example, when I was only 10, there was a news bout trafficking children and their tragic stories, I was nervous every time when I was alone outside. However, when I grew up and learned more about crime from education, the media is hard to affect me anymore. The media we saw must be filtered and add lots of literary elements
Viewers rely on the media to inform them about what is going on in the world. Just like people, however the news industry has different biases. Which is why two different news channels will tell a different story on what is based on the same
The public depends on the news media for its understanding of crime. Reportedly three quarters (76%) of the public say, they form their opinions about crime from what they see or read in the news (Dorfman & Schiraldi, 2001). After reviewing five hours of reality crime television shows, one is left with a very dismal look on society and a prejudice towards minorities as they are largely depicted as the perpetrators of crime. This new genre commonly referred to as reality television appears to be sweeping the nation by storm. Opinions vary, depending on whom you ask, to what extent reality plays a role versus the selling of a product. Sensationalism, advertising, ratings hype, profiling and fear all comprise the mass
I believe what is portrayed about crime to society is an accurate description of the justice system, in certain departments. If you watch the news or read the paper, it seems like for every good report, there are 10 to 20 bad news reports focusing on crime. The worst part is the majority of people depend on the media for information about crime, even though the reports are usually dramatic or unconfirmed. Take for example the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, where the media falsely accused Ryan Lanza for killing his own mother and leaving 30 students dead at the school. According to Daily Mail, “Lanza died at the scene and was carrying his brother's ID”. “At the time of the incident, Ryan was working at his desk when
During the infamous O.J. Simpson trial the television news media was ever present. Placing the trial as a top news story set in motion the idea that this trial was an important issue. However, the television news media was not successful at determining whether O.J. was guilty or not. For this reason, the O.J. Simpson trial is an excellent example of the Agenda Setting Theory. This paper will analyze the role the theory has in the murder trial. Television news outlets support this theory by showing people the Simpson case was important through constant coverage, but was not successful at telling the audience what to think on the issue.