I think the only value in reporting events such as these is getting the word out. If there were something going on around me, I would like to know. Such news can stop people from going out therefore possibly saving them from getting hurt or for people on the road to get away from whats happening.
News programs are intended to communicate what is happening locally, nationally, and internationally. These programs get the word out about what you need to keep an eye out for and general knowledge of what going on around you. I think everything that could hurt you or give you general knowledge of what going on should be live broadcasted. Such as political events, natural disasters, and local events. There are many factors that influence what news shows broadcast. Factors such as what their demographic is, what will appeal to their audience, what will make them have higher ratings. Fox News is very republican therefore they report negatively on democratic points of view and talk positively about republican beliefs. CNN on the other hand is very democratic, so in return they speak poorly of republican views. Local news report what everyone in the area should know. This may include wrecks, power outages, storms, traffic, and weather. Pop culture listens to what they want to listen to. They won't be forced to listen to something they disagree with. Our society likes to be informed of what has happened so they can form their own opinion about it. While we see a lot of negative things on the news, it's still a positive thing because we need to know what is happening.
I definitely agree with what you have written here. I touched on many of these similar reasons in my post. Live news broadcasts, especially car chases, are intended to let people know that there is a danger happening and could stop people from going out into that danger. It is interesting how you brought up people enjoying being informed about what has happened so they can make their own opinion on it. Everyone has a different opinion and if the reporter finds it negative and the person finds is positive, the person will go with their opinion. Even if the view is negative, I agree that it can have a positive effect because society has been informed.
ReplyDeleteI think that car chases aired live are unnecessary and does more harm than good. Take this article for example, why was Fox News doing this? Partly to inform that there is a car chase in this area, but why was it broadcast at a national level? That makes no sense. No one in Washington state is going to care about a car chase down in Arizona. They do it to catch their audience's attention, this works as a live car chase simulates the ones we normally see in action movies.
ReplyDeleteAnother note, your reference to politics were completely out of context, but I'm going to respond to it anyway. Fox News is not only biased toward Republicans, the channel is bought, and therefore owned by republicans. CNN is unbiased, as they neither slam democrats or republicans.
I think Fox News reported on this because it was a danger. People in Washington may know someone in Arizona and want to make sure that everything is okay. By being able to view this on a news channel that is national they are able to see whats going on in certain areas. Why does Fox News report on Fires in Arizona? I think it's because it's a big deal. A situation like a car chase can be a form of entertainment, but I also think people need to know whats going on. No matter where you are, it's nice to know what's going on.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to make a point saying some news stations are based towards a specific demographic. So yes, it is relevant and not out of context.
I agree with Swede for the most part. Fox news may broadcast things like this under the guise of being helpful, but it truly has harmful consequences. Sensationalizing certain aspects to life can breed distrust and paranoia. We are all aware that criminals sometimes run from the police and that suicides happen? Do I think journalists have a right to inform their viewers that something like this is happening right now? Yes, of course. Do I think it is reasonable for television news programs to air the coverage of the entire chase, until the morbid end, whatever it may be? No.
ReplyDeleteI think every television news broadcast has an agenda nowadays. It is very rare to find American news shows that are not highlighting some political aspects and downplaying others, whether it be Republican and Democrat. Politics play a big role in what is shown on these news stations. We call it "political correctness" and I think this sort of sentiment (whether the program claims to be sensitive to it or flies right in the face of it) gets in the way of the quality, useful information that would otherwise be shown.
I think there's a lot of coercion in commercial news as to how people "form their own opinions". People always complain about the obvious biases in the various 24-hour news syndicates. In that sense I think it's somewhat interesting to view images that are objectively shocking. You can't really put your own spin on viewing a live suicide or an actual car chase-it's a sobering view of a real event. That's not to say I think the news syndicates should only show such shocking images, but it's an interesting change from their usual meaningless spin.
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