The Hidden Agenda of the News Media Essay -- TV Television Newspapers

The Hidden Agenda of the News Media People use many different sources in order to gain noesis about current events. In America, historically, mass media and television have been the most dominant sources for info. Over the last decade, internet-based news sites and talk-radio shows have emerged as viable alternatives to the traditionalistic media. While, obviously, the latest forms of news media are very different from their elder counterparts regarding the conveyance of the information, they share some of the same issues regarding the reporting of the news. News coverage trick be, and normally is, influenced by many factors including, but not limited to personal political ideology, religion, culture, and economics. The inner influences of political ideology, cultural values, and religion are not limited to the writer or reporter of a story. Editors, managers, and owners are also subjected to these pressures, in addition to the need to turn a profit, and, therefore, als o influence the reporting of the news. Because of these influences, the final reaping is rarely an objective reporting of the facts. News sources convey their subjectivity, sometimes subtly, other times blatantly, through many methods. Listeners, readers, and viewers of all media should consume all information with a scrap of salt. The goal of this paper is to take one single news topic, somehow related to the United States, and see how it is treated, or spun, by dickens different foreign news sources. Although I could have chosen a topic related to the American presence in the Middle East, I chose kinda to look for a topic that might be treated with subtle subjectivity the cancellation of three of pop star Madonnas concerts in Israe... ...ans. On the other hand, the Arutz SHEVA story is blatantly subjective, almost to the point of becoming propaganda. Freunds attempt to link the Palestinian Authority to terrorist threats is very apparent, and considering the informa tion found on the Opinion page, it is obvious why. Arutz SHEVA appears to be written by religious conservatives and nationalists, and intended for an audience of the same mindset. Both, the Arutz SHEVA article and, to a lesser extent, the AP story, are examples of how terms, phrases, and emphasis can be used to spin a news topic to convey your message. My analysis of these two stories supports the argument for consumers to take all information with a grain of salt.Works CitedThe Straits Times, http//straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,252771-230000,00.html?Arutz SHEVA, http//www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=62927