How does the media shape our perception of people and place?

Question

Please please please help somebody...Only answer if you know..

I don't want anyone answering "Thats your homework do yourself"
For those people yea this is my homework i am asking help coz i don't know the answer...
ok??

Answer 1

How? Primarily by simplification.

Firstly, the media are responsible for selecting 'what is News'? They reflect attitudes in society that anything new and sensational is interesting, and that usually means something scary or painful, and rare. So they feed us, to give one example, the image that people are dangerous & there are criminals and rapists everywhere. As a result, you hardly ever see a hitch-hiker these days, especially not female, and in many cities people do not walk in the parks after dark, although actually most women have never been attacked by a stranger in their entire lives, either in a park or on a highway. Similarly with scares about salmonella in eggs and radioactivity dangers from nuclear power stations, the impression is left in people's minds that what is in fact rare is commonplace.b

Secondly, by fuelling culture and geography bias. Five dead people from your own country in some tragedy abroad is worth more column cm and larger headlines than a thousand from some culturally remote and geographically distant land. There was a mudslide in the Philippines the other day, and 1000 people died, but with a UK media lens "who cares?" The Philippines is a poor and remote country of little interest. One Brit murdered in Greece got much more coverage. The earthquake in Pakistan got much more news coverage because 2-3% of British people have relatives in Pakistan.

Thirdly, by strengthening archetypes into stereotypes. Words like "gay", "paedophile", "psychopath", "corruption", and "communist" are used with loaded implications. All rapists are "brutal". There is a subtle separation of our minds from common shared humanity to bias our compassion through the convention that in a criminal trial the victim and everyone else is referred to by their Christian name or their full name as people are in all other news stories, but the accused is referred to only by their surname. Media use phrases like "Islamic terrorism" although Muslim leaders consistently point out that Islam is opposed to terrorism and terrorism in the name of Islam is unIslamic.

The media cannot create a pattern in society unless the thought-seeds are already in people's hearts and minds, but they can certainly fuel and reinforce patterns.

Answer 2

Homework...Smomework...here goes...
The main 25 population center of US places sport bewspapers that:
1) Aspire to do liberal, feel-good storiesat top of page, huge ad below
2) Tend to blame whitey for the woes of blacky and browny...Asians just get educated, work hard, and succeed. They do not feel need to blame anybody or have time for that trivia. They know they are in HEAVEN financially and just want to prosoer as God intended in a free society.
3) Asians not so welcome in university anymore, but do not cry about it or wail and moan, just get educated somewhere more abliging like Michigan.
4) Newspapers and media thrive on blood...if it bleeds it leads...that is why Iraq having 80% of schools attended and 90% of all utilities functional is NOT NEWS...bomb in bakery is...
5) Media tends to be "drive-by" in nature. If it is BAD NEWS or somebody SAID SOMETHING bad...that's news. They want to be hard hitting and move on...like a drive-by shooting.
6) Want publicity? You can adopt a deserving local child and be ignored or get a controversial baby from a Hellhole overseas....and people will think you are GREAT!
7) STILL want publicity? Say some RACIST REMARKS and you will be in the news and on TV for days if not WEEKS! And you will prosper...as long as you are a liberal, "they" will understand...

Answer 3

Media only shows what you need to know
for you to have an idea of whats going on

Look for the movie "Wag The Dog"
with Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Willie Nelson...
for ideas and explanations and how they
tend to distract you from what it is really happening
a story goes national

Answer 4

For me, media would tell you the stories on comera only, if your just watching. If you're involve in the media many of your talents and personalities would be developed.