Sunday, March 1, 2009
Communication and the Mass Media
The first video shows George W. Bush and his top ten ‘bloopers’ on the David Letterman show. The clips are taken off during his eight year reign in the constitution and I believe this is what America remembers him by. Other than the infamous ‘shoe’ incident, these are examples of how the media sensationalize content to increase television network viewership ratings.
This talk show typifies certain characteristics of media messages like invisible receivers and interposed channels. It is as such because audience are large, heterogeneous and anonymous who can terminate communication at will. The channel it employs is obviously the television network and the way the information is encoded is for viewing pleasure more than anything else, but it requires some skill in decoding for the receivers to understand the media message. The four media functions identified by Charles Wright are also explicitly displayed in this way: surveillance (information), correlation (analysis and evaluation), cultural transmission (between USA and other parts of the world that had access) and entertainment.
The next video shows the finance minister for Japan, Shoichi Nakagawa, in a G7 conference in Rome. His responses and body language had people around the world debating on whether he was or was not intoxicated. It was splashed across the news and Mr. Nakagawa defended critics saying it was due to the slumberous effect of flu medication, but thereafter, he resigned from his post. This is an example of one media communication theory. This media theory explains the role of the mass media in shaping values and world views. The powerful effects theory might have been in play and contributed to Minister Nakagawa’s demise. This is so because it is based on the assumption that the mass media exerts tremendous influence on to the passive target audience. The conclusion should be that he (Shoichi Nakagawa) realized he has brought shame to his country (thanks to the media) and hopes that resignation would instil confidence back in the Japanese of their political leaders.
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first of all, i dun see any video in your post. is it just me or what? woooo i like to watch spoofs, esp one of Bushy's(and of cos, captions add on to the entertainment value). i dunno why but he is so badly portrayed in the media. people have come up with comics, videos and even stories to make fun of him. anyway, these videos are highly entertaining yet they usually have an hidden agenda, and usually it is an attempt to mock at the featured person. videos usually do not convey the message directly, but once u get the gist of it, it usually speaks more than a 1000 words essay.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all due to technical difficulties my video got posted up late and I apologize. From the obvious crowd reactions in the video it is for sure that George Bush was being mocked at. Although Bush has his moments of brilliance, his un-presidential like behaviors far overwhelm it and that is why his ‘bloopers’ are being brought to light again.
ReplyDeletefirstly, sorry no cure. secondly, i doubt it was due to technical difficulties but rather, u forgot to add it in. its alright to admit your mistakes as we will not mock u like how we do to bush. we are nice and forgiving people. now, shouldnt you thank me for adding on to your post count once again? wahahha
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI think an interesting point to note would be how the media shapes how people think about an issue. This is an example of media framing used in public relations, derived from the 1972 Agenda Setting Theory by McCombs and Shaw. The assumption here is that people are passive, and how they view an issue depends on how the media frames it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the public's respect for Obama, and lack thereof for Bush has a lot to do with the media's prolific telecasts of Bush bloopers and Obama's "Yes We Can" rhetoric.
yeah.. i agree with eagle eye! i think you can apply that to the Shoichi Nakagawa affair as well. Coverage on Nakagawa is only limited to his lacklustre performance at the G7, but no further probes seem to cover on the credibility of intoxication claims (eg. evidence of exact he took, any prescriptions or signs of illness)
ReplyDeletewell considering that Nakagawa is considered as part of Japan's elite. he's had an illustrious career before politics, and his father was also a politician! it's no wonder the Japanese media (famous for covering scandals on many past politicians) would exploit this issue to reduce public faith in the LDP.
yeah I agree to what Eagle eye. However, in my opinion, media alone isn't enough to manipulate the audiences. the speaker him/herself has to understand how media works and therefore could exploit it to the fullest. For instance, why people respect Obama more than Bush? I think simply because Obama is more charismatic and a better speaker compared to Bush . Let's take Hitler for example. He alone could manipulate the whole German to do his bidding. It is not only with the help of media that he managed to do that. Rather, it's all because of his speech that he managed that. Thus, in my opinion, what matter most is the person, not the media.
ReplyDeleteTo valmond. Please post constructive comments.
ReplyDeleteTo eagle eye. I believe the person or should I say the speech itself has the ability to shape an issue instead of saying that it is influenced by media. Obama actually has a scriptwriter to conjure up a public speech for him. He is being paid up to the thousands for a word. With such potent and effective service, I reckon Mr. Obama can do without the assistance of the media.
to ponyo. Anything that happens to a well-known figure is newsworthy enough. With that, the Japanese media honed in and practically terminated the finance minister’s reign. For this, I would agree that the media shaped this issue not in Mr. Nakagawa’s favor, and subsequently plotted his downfall.
ReplyDeleteto fs29. Well I think Hitler is not applicable in this situation. He possesses charisma and persuasive articulation capability. His own talents are more than enough to overwhelm and to me back in those days, media were not as developed as it is now.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, the George W. Bush video was hilarious! haha I'm still laughing out loud! xD
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I totally agree with what Eagle eye has to say. I believe it is the media that shapes up peoples perception and as Marshall McLuhan once stated, "The medium is the message."
Thoughtful piece!
Well its evident that the media truly plays a gatekeeper role, and a very powerful one at that. The fact that Bush's bloopers can be so well-documented is proof of the media's seemingly endless resources.
ReplyDeleteMedia can indeed be a beneficial tool. Like the video of the finanace Minister of Japan, it truly brings the attention to the behaviour of the country's leaders, and is a warning and reminder to the other ministers that they are public figures who should play their role well.
Yet soemtimes under the wrong hands, or for the wrong purposes, media can be terrifying by being to intrusive. Stories of the paparazzi becoming peeping toms anyone?
I think the media should carefully consider the impact the news material has on the society before choosing whether to broadcast it or not.
to cynera
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more. Indeed media is a powerful medium that delivers with such influential effect. That is why it is the most popular tool for transmission of message.
to Olivia
ReplyDeleteEvery expression or portrayal is a calculated move to achieve the optimum result. It is obvious why they piled the pressure on Mr. Nakgagawa. They know this will bring in viewership, which is the primary motive and objective of any media company. This means I do not share the same view that media would be selective based on the positivity or for this case, negativity of the impact.