I have chosen a news broadcast from the RTE nine o'clock news that was broadcast on Sunday the 14th April. The specific report I have chosen covers the vote at the constitutional convention that same sex marriage should be legalised in Ireland. Politicians and a panel of citizens representing the electorate discussed the issue over the weekend and on Sunday they voted a majority of 4 to 1 for change.
The news broadcaster reporting on this referred to it as a 'controversial issue' and informed us that a spokesman for catholic bishops expressed dissappointment with the outcome. The picture shown to us on screen while the newsreporter was talking was that of a crowd of people holding up different coloured signs with the word 'equal' on them. I think these colours represent the rainbow colours of the gay pride flag. Although there is no headline to accompany the report I think that the word 'equal' can be seen as the headline for this story. As this is the only time that the catholic church is mentioned in this report we can see that it is biased in favour of same sex marriage and therefore shows us that the role of the catholic church is no longer as important as it once was in Ireland.
A video then plays of a crowd of people in the street cheering and holding 'equal' signs. We can see here that this is a celebration as people are cheering and smiling. It is being portrayed to us as something positive. It then goes to a shot of the convention with people casting their ballot and we are informed that people voted 'overwhelmingly' for civil same sex marriage.
Gay and lesbian couples are given priority in this news report. Senator Katherine Zappone is interviewed after we are informed that she is fighting in the courts for legal recognition of her lesbian relationship as a marriage. The vote is described as 'sweet music' to her ears. She describes her feeling as being 'overwhelmed'.
With words such as 'overwhelmingly', 'equal' and phrases like 'sweet music' being used to describe the participants and their actions we are shown a happy, positive side of this report in favour of the gay and lesbian couples.
People who were at the convention and politicans who are in favour of gay marriage are given priority in the report as these are the people being interviewed. They are interviewed at the convention and outside the hotel it took place in. However one of the expert witnesses who addressed the convention was acused of being biased. We are told his name is Professor Jim Sheehan who teaches in Norway and who is a social worker and and experienced family therapist. Senator Ronan Mullen was then interviewed and assused him of showing his true colours more than he should have done as a neutral expert. The Charimain of the convention, Tom Arnold, was then mentioned for standing over Professor Jim Sheehan's comments calling them impartial and objective and said that there was no evidence that same sex parenting was bad for children. We are not told the full extent of what Professor Sheehan said but with the chairman saying that there was no evidence that same sex parenting was bad for children again shows support for same sex marriage.
The next piece of information we are given in the report is that Fine Gael has no position in legalising same sex marriage so the question is posed can cabinet ministers who are in favour bring the largest government party with them.This shows that the report is in favour of same sex marriage. If they were against it they could have said can ministers who are not in favour bring Fine Gael with them. The wording used here is favourable to same sex marriage. TD Frances Fitzgerald is then interviewed saying that they would have to tease out the possible consequences if such a referendem were held, she goes on to say that there are many issues that need legislation and detailed attention. This tells us that it is still a controversal issue with some people and it's not as straight forward as it may look after this vote.
The camera shots then go back to the people on the street showing them posing for photos and there's a close up of a gay couple holding hands where you can see an engagement ring on their finger. The camera shots show the point of view of the gay coulples and how much a vote like this means to them.
The sequence of the story begins and ends with the happy crowds on the street to leave the lasting image in our heads that this is something good and positive for Ireland and that all these couples are being supported.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTNmQBkZHxY
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Media as a means of production
According to Silverblatt (204) it can be argued that the media have emerged as a new social institution replacing traditional social institutions like the family, church and school. An increasing number of people are looking to the media for direction with respect to values and rules of behaviour although there is a tendency to avoid the unpopular and unconventional. The media have a huge effect on people's lifestyles, dictating daily activities, language and fashion. Daily activities include families sitting down at the same time every evening to watch the news. Language and Fashion can include people following the influence of what celebrities are doing and wearing.
Media production is essentially based on the need to please the audience. If the audience needs are ignored then the likely outcome is commercial failure. These needs are met with their daily dose of news from whats going on around the world or from giving viewers their daily dose of soap opera drama or celebrity gossip. Media figures have emerged as societal role models, representing a standard of success that their fans seek to follow (Silverblatt, 2004).
However, ideology refers to a set of ideas which produce a partial and selective view of reality, this in turn serves the interests of those with power in society. We can see this in times of war when the government seek direct control over the media, they do not want their public support being undermined by images of civilian casualties.
Looking at it this way I think that the medias main role is circulating and re-inforcing dominant ideologies that are put in place by those in power. Because of the people in power they rarely undermine and challenge these ideologies.
Media production is essentially based on the need to please the audience. If the audience needs are ignored then the likely outcome is commercial failure. These needs are met with their daily dose of news from whats going on around the world or from giving viewers their daily dose of soap opera drama or celebrity gossip. Media figures have emerged as societal role models, representing a standard of success that their fans seek to follow (Silverblatt, 2004).
However, ideology refers to a set of ideas which produce a partial and selective view of reality, this in turn serves the interests of those with power in society. We can see this in times of war when the government seek direct control over the media, they do not want their public support being undermined by images of civilian casualties.
Looking at it this way I think that the medias main role is circulating and re-inforcing dominant ideologies that are put in place by those in power. Because of the people in power they rarely undermine and challenge these ideologies.
Wag The Dog
Wag the Dog is a film from 1997 directed by Barry Levinson. The film begins with the American president getting caught in a scandal of sexual misconduct in the days leading up to the re-election. It shows how his advisors work with a Hollywood producer to fabricate a war with Albania that the president can heroically end therefore drawing the attention away from the sex scandal.
Wag the Dog shows the power of the media. Through made up story lines and special effects the media can make the public believe anything. Big media production companies who have the money and the resources can create just about any situation. In the film we see how the production company hire an American actress to play the role of an Albanian teenager running from a burning building holding a kitten. We can see all the little things considered in this scene to make it effective for the audience. The presence of a young girl and a helpless kitten would pull at viewers heart strings. A sound track of people screaming was also played to make it more believable. A green screen was used in the production process with the war zone background and even the kitten being put in digitally at the end.
We also see in the film how the people addressing the media were told what to say by the advisors. This makes me think about if anything we see in the media or at a press conference is coming from the actual person themselves or have they been trained by advisors on what to say and how to 'sell' what they are saying. Even when the presidents opponent in the film ends the war to the public, the presidents advisors come up with another 'brilliant' idea to make him look like a hero. They create a war hero who has gone missing so the president can rescue him and be the hero again.
I don't think that something to this extreme is possible in the real world but I do believe that some people would be willing to go to these lengths of deception to make themselves look good and to avoid a scandal. The public look to the media for advice and trust that the media have done their research, so having said that I don't think the public are the gullible ones here I believe that it's the news reporters who are gullible and will report on anything with very little evidence just so they have news to broadcast.
Although very controversial and raw at the moment are the recent bombings at the Boston marathon. They are a lot of conspiracy theories on the Internet at the moment about how this was a set up. There is a picture circulating online of an army vet, who took part in the marathon, in a wheel chair with his legs blown off. The internet posts are talking about how there doesn't seem to be a trail of blood behind him or any blood still coming from him and that if he has bled out completely he would be passed out. In the picture he is awake and sitting up in the wheelchair. Some posts also say that this army vet has already landed himself an acting role with out any acting skills. Now I am not saying that this is true or is at all possible I am just using it as an example as a potential similar event occurring in the real world and to demonstrate how the public are becoming more and more suspicious of the media and the government. People are no longer believing everything they are seeing in the media and are becoming more suspicious and critical of these kind of events.
Wag the Dog shows the power of the media. Through made up story lines and special effects the media can make the public believe anything. Big media production companies who have the money and the resources can create just about any situation. In the film we see how the production company hire an American actress to play the role of an Albanian teenager running from a burning building holding a kitten. We can see all the little things considered in this scene to make it effective for the audience. The presence of a young girl and a helpless kitten would pull at viewers heart strings. A sound track of people screaming was also played to make it more believable. A green screen was used in the production process with the war zone background and even the kitten being put in digitally at the end.
We also see in the film how the people addressing the media were told what to say by the advisors. This makes me think about if anything we see in the media or at a press conference is coming from the actual person themselves or have they been trained by advisors on what to say and how to 'sell' what they are saying. Even when the presidents opponent in the film ends the war to the public, the presidents advisors come up with another 'brilliant' idea to make him look like a hero. They create a war hero who has gone missing so the president can rescue him and be the hero again.
I don't think that something to this extreme is possible in the real world but I do believe that some people would be willing to go to these lengths of deception to make themselves look good and to avoid a scandal. The public look to the media for advice and trust that the media have done their research, so having said that I don't think the public are the gullible ones here I believe that it's the news reporters who are gullible and will report on anything with very little evidence just so they have news to broadcast.
Although very controversial and raw at the moment are the recent bombings at the Boston marathon. They are a lot of conspiracy theories on the Internet at the moment about how this was a set up. There is a picture circulating online of an army vet, who took part in the marathon, in a wheel chair with his legs blown off. The internet posts are talking about how there doesn't seem to be a trail of blood behind him or any blood still coming from him and that if he has bled out completely he would be passed out. In the picture he is awake and sitting up in the wheelchair. Some posts also say that this army vet has already landed himself an acting role with out any acting skills. Now I am not saying that this is true or is at all possible I am just using it as an example as a potential similar event occurring in the real world and to demonstrate how the public are becoming more and more suspicious of the media and the government. People are no longer believing everything they are seeing in the media and are becoming more suspicious and critical of these kind of events.
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