Week 1: Assignment and Response to Classmates

ThursdayOct 5 at 2:19am

Manage Discussion Entry

One of the national stories in the past 48 hours was about the relationship between President Trump and the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. As the story goes, Tillerson allegedly referred to Trump as a moron. If true, such a statement by the chief diplomat might seem benign to most people, if a little improper.

In Washington 2017, it's a story. So much so that Tillerson held a news conference to express his affection and loyalty to the job and the president.

Like a playground judge and jury, public opinion swirls around sensational headlines. When taken out of context, Tillerson's comments, if true, are not newsworthy. However, when combined with a mercurial master with a famous temper and a habit of swift and cutting retribution on social media; the remarks gain new contextual meaning.

On CNN.com, the headline read "After 'moron' report, Tillerson reaffirms commitment to Trump" beneath a photo with bold lettered headlines.

On Fox News.com, the headline was "Tillerson blasts report of rift with Trump, as president rips 'fake news"The FNC also published an article with a headline that said, "NBC News won't apologize to America despite Trump's 'fake news' claim."

These stories capture two sides of the issue from different camps. The Fox News article connotes a need for NBC News to apologize for "fake news" while the CNN piece screams of denial of continued turmoil inside Trump's administration.

In total, the Tillerson story is an example of private surveillance (Functions of Mass Media, 2015, p.1.2). Through the mass media, viewers can experience the interpersonal tension of leaders at the highest level of the federal government. It's hard to imagine how this story will amount to anything consequential, but it does contribute to the notion of discord in Washington.

- Joel Seppala

References

Flood, B. (2017, October 4). NBC News won'tt apologize to America despite Trump’s ‘fake news’ claim. FoxNews.com. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/10/04/nbc-news-wont-apologize-to-america-despite-trumps-fake-news-claim.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Gaouette, N., Liptak, K. (2017, October 4). After 'moron' report, Tillerson reaffirms commitment to Trump. CNN.com. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/04/politics/tillerson-trump-commitment-moron/index.html

Graber, D., Dunaway, J. (2015). Mass Media and American Politics, Ninth Ed. Sage Publications, Inc:Â Thousand Oaks, California.