Democracy & the News Media

MythsSensationalism

James Madison

• “Nothing could be more irrational than to give the people power and to withhold from them information, without which power is abused. A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both.”

• Effectiveness of government depends on • the extent the people are informed about events• Ability to think independently and critically

about those events• Detect bias• Detect ideology

• Media sources sophisticated in art of persuading and manipulating large masses of people• Create aura of objectivity, truthfulness

• Minority of citizens are skilled in recognizing bias/propaganda• Detect one sided portrayals of events• Seek alternative sources for comparison

Myths that Obscure the Logic of the News Media

• Most news stories are produced through independent investigative journalism• Writers simply report facts in their stories, no conclusions• Facts and opinions are clearly separated• International news• Reported objectively by us/slanted or distorted by foreign news

• What is unusual is news; what is usual is not

Critical Consumer of the Media• Understand the basis agenda of news story

construction• Read between the lines, “stories-as-they-might-have-

been-told using other points of view.• Access alternative sources, identify facts ignored,

put events into historical perspective• Identify low-credibility stories by noticing vested

interests or passion associated with content.

Sensational Journalism

• Sensationalized and oversimplified news coverage• “The bias of the mainstream media is toward

sensationalism, conflict and laziness. The embarrassment is that I’m given credibility in this world because of the disappointment that the public has in what the news media does.” Jon Steward 2014

Is Sensationalism so horrible??

• Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst• Sensationalized the news in order to sell more papers• Spread information to less-literate audiences• Helped to establish or question norms and boundaries??

• Era of 24/7 news, are real stories being sacrificed for sensational ones?

“Junk food of our news diet”The ice cream sundae you eagerly gobble up

• http://groundfloormedia.com/blog/2011/10/the-16-muffin-a-perfect-example-of-sensationalized-reporting/ • Interested in a story about a $16 dollar

cupcake?