Week 1: Assignment and Response to Classmates

FridayOct 6 at 6:37pm

Manage Discussion Entry

Hi All.

Media influences public opinions by determining which news they feel the audience wants to read about. Pictures, soundbites and videos are very powerful ways to get a point across (Graber & Dunaway, 2015). In a perfect world, the media would not be biased and have fair, accurate, ethical coverage, giving both sides of an issue equal time and letting the public determine what they believe is fact or fiction. Unfortunately, the press has gotten a bad rap of late, and much of it is their own doing. Instead of being part of the Fourth Estate, or government watchdogs, they are reporting rumors and speculation and leaving the public frustrated by fake news. The topic I chose is what everyone is talking about, the shooter in Las Vegas.

In a Fox news report the day after the shooting took place, the reporters focused mainly on the death toll, the victims and the killer. They did say that he had a lot of firearms but did not mention the “bump stock� that has become a buzz word this week. During the same day, Hilary Clinton started talking about gun control. While, I do understand her stance, I did not think it appropriate at that time. I believe most Americans wanted to mourn and find out if their families or friends were among the victims instead. This type of scenario could dig a hole for the person that is politicizing an issue that should be handled differently; people saw a colder side of Clinton than they saw of Trump that day. This is an example of how and what the media chooses to report can sway public opinion.

This also partially answers the second question in the prompt as the two politicians from different sides of the aisle reacted in very different ways.

The third question asks if the media presented both sides of the issue. I do believe that the second day after the massacre, the media started presenting both sides of the issue of gun control, especially that of bump stocks. It may only be because both sides agree that the loophole needs to be closed.

Graber, D., & Dunaway, J. (2015). Mass Media and American Politics, Ninth Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Electronic Edition.

Housely, A., La Jeunesse, W., Gibson, J., Herridge, C., Arroyo, M., Singman, B., . . . Associated Press. (2017, OCtober 03). Las Vegas shooting: At least 59 dead in massacre Trump calls 'act of pure evil'. Retrieved from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/02/reports-active-shooter-near-mandalay-bay-in-las-vegas.html