October Blog Post

October Blog Post

            The important theme that I wanted to focus on for my October Blog Post is the media culture. I felt this was an important theme for us to focus on in class this month because much of our lives now revolve around or are affected by some sort of media. This could be present in the form of social media outlets like Twitter, Instagram, etc. or it could be present through television programs like Fox News or CNN. In some way or another we get information about the world around us. How this information is presented to us is important in shaping our culture and creating a reaction within our society. It is possible to present an image of a non-threatening situation and alter it to create a feeling of fear. This power the media has over the culture we have created is something worth understanding.

            I work for Idaho Public Television and I spend a lot of my time directly involved with the judicial and legislative branches of the government. I observe and record much of the legislative committee meetings during the legislative session at the beginning of each year. I also record many of the Idaho Supreme Court hearings as well. I have been involved with this for the past five years and it has presented me many opportunities to learn about the inner workings of the government and how it affects the regular citizens. I think that this is an important opportunity for me because I am able to hear the same presentations that the legislators hear when they have a piece of legislation presented before them. I am able to consume this information without any of it being altered by the media. This is a good example of how the media shapes our culture because we see it all the time in campaign ads.

            During recent months leading to the upcoming elections in November we have consumed information regarding the potential candidates and many of the hot-button issues that we will be able to vote on upon. Depending on how someone consumed their information they may view a candidate as evil or self-interested by some of the negative ads being run. They may think a candidate is the obvious choice because they got an endorsement from someone who we respect. There are many ways that the media plays its role in shaping who gets elected and what topics are pushed through as a result of how they are portrayed to each citizen.

            I think that learning about media and its effect on culture has been important to understanding why it is important to do research. Prior to making any decisions it is important that we completely understand both sides of any topic. This reduces the control the media has over our culture and can allow us to educate ourselves in order to make better decisions. Not all media is bad media but that doesn’t mean all media is good media. It is important that we develop the skills to make this distinction and keep ourselves independent from control by the media we consume.

Sources:

Warren, John T., and Deanna L. Fassett. Communication: a Critical/Cultural Introduction. SAGE Publications, Inc, 2014.