Throughout the semester, prompts based on class readings, screenings, lectures, and discussions will be posted on this blog. Responses will be graded on their level of critical thinking, pertinence, engagement with class texts, and grammar/spelling/proofing/
length. Be sure to read the prompt carefully and fully engage with the content of the class materials. At the bottom of your response, type your FIRST NAME and the FIRST INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME (e.g. Claudia Z.).
Friday, February 10, 2017
Week Three: Response 3.1
After reading the media awareness list created by Pozner,
describe 2 or 3 things to be aware of in looking at the media and 2 or 3 ways
you can take action to help reform it.
As a former psychology major, we were constantly reminded to be on the lookout for misleading data and polls when reading experimental studies. It is always important to make sure there are no extraneous variables that may skew the data. It is vital to make sure that the data reported is faithfully representing the population being sample. Pozner gives a great example of this when The Washington Post provided a misleading poll that after September 11, 2001 almost 90% of the public favored the war. What the study failed to report until the end of the story is that the wording of the headline was misleading. It turned out that 48% of women actually wanted limited to no war in Afghanistan.
Something to be aware of more than ever is click-bate (false news reports). Controversy over the excessive amount of fake news articles being posted and shared through Facebook sparked great controversy for the 2016 Presidential election. Although Pozner published this piece eleven years ago, even then she cautioned readers to read (and watch) broadly. Pozner may not have been aware of the danger heavily unregulated social media platforms could be in the future to persuade opinions, but she did know it was already being seen in newspapers and news channels.
One of the most surprising facts I learned in class was the effect Bill Clinton’s Telecommunication Act of 1996. Merging media corporations put only a select few of conglomerates at the reigns of power. In particular, we talked about iHeartmedia Group and how they currently own approximately 850 radio stations. Although they own an overwhelming amount of the US airways, Pozner suggests that a powerful way to take action and combat these big companies is by supporting, or even starting, your own local access radio station. By supporting a grassroots, independently owned station not only can you hear issues that apply more to your own community, but you can also break free from the mass produced content the conglomerate corporations want you to only hear.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember while taking action is to remember to think long-term, as Pozner points out. It is important not to get discouraged when you think your letters, protest and opinions are not getting heard. It is important to remember that society is not going to change over night and all the efforts you do, rather larger or small, do matter. In ecofeminism, we talk a lot about the quest for environmental justice. A constant reminder we engrave in our way of thinking is the idea of sustainability. Although a quick-fix solution is always enticing, ecofeminism know that the ultimate goal is to keep our planet spinning is think towards the future. It is vital to do actions that are going to still be impactful years down the line. This same principal can be applied to reforming our media. As Pozner notes, structural change is the goal, not simply getting one news publication to apologize for a gender bias. I know I can take action by keeping focus on the bigger picture I am fighting for and that perseverance is key.
In “How to Reclaim, Reframe and Reform the Media”, Pozner asserts that factors such as the financial and political agendas of corporate media owners (mainly white men), and the right-wing organizations’ attempts to frame discussion about American politics in their terms have led to an underrepresentation of women (particularly feminists) in American media. Furthermore, Pozner states that to move public opinion, defend our rights and create a non-biased new coverage, feminists and progressives have to “compete on the media battlefield.” Fighting on the media battlefield implies critiquing negative media and promoting collective work to create positive media coverage and advocate for structural reform.
We rely on the media to provide information on current issues that affect us as individuals at a political, social and to some extent emotional level. Therefore, it is vital to be aware of misleading and unreliable news sources while looking at the media. News channels, newspapers, magazines and advertisement ads tend to distortion information to manipulate the public attitudes and opinions towards certain issues. After the March for Women’s Lives in 2004, for instance, headlines tried to downplay its political importance by stating that “thousands of protesters marched” when in reality more than a million women marched.
The Telecommunication Act of 1996 passed by the Clinton administration deregulated the telecommunication industry allowing for the formation of media conglomerates. As a result, today 90% of our media comes from six companies that control the content of everything we watch, listen and the sources of our information. Conglomerates create bias news to make revenue; therefore, Pozner cautions viewers to read (and watch broadly) about the issues that are important to them. Individuals need to be aware of who are the sources of the news, of the lack of diversity, from whose point of view is the news reported, and identify double standards and stereotypes. Also, Pozner suggests that to contend against conglomerates, progressives and feminists need to “be the media” that is, progressives should organize and support non-biased media coverage, create their films, radio stations or cable access to promote accurate news that is focused on the issues that affect their communities.
When looking at the media, we need to pay attention to the way a particular product is advertised. We are constantly being bombarded by ads that try to profit from females’ desires and insecurities. Pozner proposes to fight the influence of advertising, commercialism, and political propaganda by not buying products that are advertised in offensive ways and implementing counter-advertising techniques. Finally, it is important to remember that change takes times, and it is the result of consistency. The efforts to fight conglomerates and misleading information in the media will help to generate informative, critical, accurate and non-biased coverage of women and the issues that most affect us.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs a former psychology major, we were constantly reminded to be on the lookout for misleading data and polls when reading experimental studies. It is always important to make sure there are no extraneous variables that may skew the data. It is vital to make sure that the data reported is faithfully representing the population being sample. Pozner gives a great example of this when The Washington Post provided a misleading poll that after September 11, 2001 almost 90% of the public favored the war. What the study failed to report until the end of the story is that the wording of the headline was misleading. It turned out that 48% of women actually wanted limited to no war in Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteSomething to be aware of more than ever is click-bate (false news reports). Controversy over the excessive amount of fake news articles being posted and shared through Facebook sparked great controversy for the 2016 Presidential election. Although Pozner published this piece eleven years ago, even then she cautioned readers to read (and watch) broadly. Pozner may not have been aware of the danger heavily unregulated social media platforms could be in the future to persuade opinions, but she did know it was already being seen in newspapers and news channels.
One of the most surprising facts I learned in class was the effect Bill Clinton’s Telecommunication Act of 1996. Merging media corporations put only a select few of conglomerates at the reigns of power. In particular, we talked about iHeartmedia Group and how they currently own approximately 850 radio stations. Although they own an overwhelming amount of the US airways, Pozner suggests that a powerful way to take action and combat these big companies is by supporting, or even starting, your own local access radio station. By supporting a grassroots, independently owned station not only can you hear issues that apply more to your own community, but you can also break free from the mass produced content the conglomerate corporations want you to only hear.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember while taking action is to remember to think long-term, as Pozner points out. It is important not to get discouraged when you think your letters, protest and opinions are not getting heard. It is important to remember that society is not going to change over night and all the efforts you do, rather larger or small, do matter. In ecofeminism, we talk a lot about the quest for environmental justice. A constant reminder we engrave in our way of thinking is the idea of sustainability. Although a quick-fix solution is always enticing, ecofeminism know that the ultimate goal is to keep our planet spinning is think towards the future. It is vital to do actions that are going to still be impactful years down the line. This same principal can be applied to reforming our media. As Pozner notes, structural change is the goal, not simply getting one news publication to apologize for a gender bias. I know I can take action by keeping focus on the bigger picture I am fighting for and that perseverance is key.
Steven G
In “How to Reclaim, Reframe and Reform the Media”, Pozner asserts that factors such as the financial and political agendas of corporate media owners (mainly white men), and the right-wing organizations’ attempts to frame discussion about American politics in their terms have led to an underrepresentation of women (particularly feminists) in American media. Furthermore, Pozner states that to move public opinion, defend our rights and create a non-biased new coverage, feminists and progressives have to “compete on the media battlefield.” Fighting on the media battlefield implies critiquing negative media and promoting collective work to create positive media coverage and advocate for structural reform.
ReplyDeleteWe rely on the media to provide information on current issues that affect us as individuals at a political, social and to some extent emotional level. Therefore, it is vital to be aware of misleading and unreliable news sources while looking at the media. News channels, newspapers, magazines and advertisement ads tend to distortion information to manipulate the public attitudes and opinions towards certain issues. After the March for Women’s Lives in 2004, for instance, headlines tried to downplay its political importance by stating that “thousands of protesters marched” when in reality more than a million women marched.
The Telecommunication Act of 1996 passed by the Clinton administration deregulated the telecommunication industry allowing for the formation of media conglomerates. As a result, today 90% of our media comes from six companies that control the content of everything we watch, listen and the sources of our information. Conglomerates create bias news to make revenue; therefore, Pozner cautions viewers to read (and watch broadly) about the issues that are important to them. Individuals need to be aware of who are the sources of the news, of the lack of diversity, from whose point of view is the news reported, and identify double standards and stereotypes. Also, Pozner suggests that to contend against conglomerates, progressives and feminists need to “be the media” that is, progressives should organize and support non-biased media coverage, create their films, radio stations or cable access to promote accurate news that is focused on the issues that affect their communities.
When looking at the media, we need to pay attention to the way a particular product is advertised. We are constantly being bombarded by ads that try to profit from females’ desires and insecurities. Pozner proposes to fight the influence of advertising, commercialism, and political propaganda by not buying products that are advertised in offensive ways and implementing counter-advertising techniques. Finally, it is important to remember that change takes times, and it is the result of consistency. The efforts to fight conglomerates and misleading information in the media will help to generate informative, critical, accurate and non-biased coverage of women and the issues that most affect us.
-Melendez M.