FREE ESSAY ON TV AND MEDIA EFFECT ON THE PUBLIC

TV AND MEDIA EFFECT ON THE PUBLIC

Television is a vital source from which most Americans receive information. News and media
delegates on television have abused theirs powers over society through the airing of
appealing news shows that misinform the public. Through literary research and
experimentation, it has been proven that people's perception of reality has been altered
by the information they receive from such programs. Manipulation, misinterpretation, word
arrangement, picture placement and timing are all factors and tricks that play a major
role in the case. Research, experimentation, and actual media coverage has pinpointed
actual methods used for deceptive advertising. 
Television influences society in many ways. People are easily swayed to accept a belief
that they may not normally have unless expressed on television, since many people think
that everything they hear on television is true. This, however, is not always the case.
It has been observed that over the past twenty to thirty years, normal social behavior,
even actual life roles of men and women and media, regulatory policies have all been
altered (Browne 1998). Media has changed with time, along with quality and
respectability. Many Americans receive and accept false information that is merely used
as an attention grabber that better the show's ratings and popularity. Many magazines and
Journal reviews have periodically discussed the muckraking that many tabloid shows rely
on to draw in their viewers. This involves sensationalizing a story to make it more
interesting, therefore increasing the interest of the audience. Along the way, all sorts
of scandalous substance and goofy tricks appear, but not much mystery in the logic,
(Garnson 1997). People often know that these shows aim to deceive them, but still accept
the information as truth.
Many times, people have strong opinions on certain topics. Yet, when they are exposed to
the other side of the argument, they may be likely to agree with the opposite view. As
Leon Festinger said, If I chose to do it (or say it), I must believe in it, (Myers 1997).
This is an example of Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, which pertains to acting
contrary to our beliefs. Television influences many people to change their original
beliefs. It has the viewers think that the majority of other people hold the contrary
idea. Once these views are presented, people have the option to hold strong to their
beliefs or conform to what they feel the rest of society believes. Though conforming is
not necessarily bad, it can confuse people and therefore allow them to believe false
ideas. When someone is under an informational social influence and is willing to change
their views, the fine line between the truth and fiction is clouded. It is; however,
important to keep an open mind and not let any personal prejudices influence a decision
on an important topic. Though agreeing with an idea simply to be accepted by others in
society is questionable. Joseph Joybert, an essayist from the eighteenth century once
said, Those who never retract their opinions love themselves more than they love truth
(Myers 1997). Which emphasizes the importance of open-mindedness.
Television is in the convenient position of being able to influence people when they are
most vulnerable. Open-mindedness can often be treated as gullibility and therefore used
as a tool to manipulate people's beliefs. Daschmann has stated a reason for this
gullibility. He claims that a certain amount of gullibility or understanding of certain
news shows comes with social factors. Some people are raised with a different education
and status with society than others, which hinges on the perception of the different news
shows and material. But the individual differences and character traits do not have a
bearing on the subject matter (Daschmann & Kepplinger 1997). These news shows then place
the ball in the public's court and they must figure out what to do with it themselves. It
is very difficult for normal people to know whom to believe. So many intelligent
Americans accept the information that they receive from television because they could not
imagine being deceived. They think only morons can be influenced by television, but do
not even realize how easily they are confusing truth for fiction and tabloid fluff.
The tabloid shows are so questionable that even those within the industry are unsure of
their motivations. According to Zoglin, these programs ... are scorned by mainstream
journalists, dismissed by most critics, laughed at by many viewers. Yet when sensational
crimes and celebrity scandals grab the nation's attention, these are the shows that do
the spadework, uncover the dirt, and get the scoops. Their style may be cheesy and there
tactics dicey, but they are doing a lot of old-fashioned, roll-up-your-sleeves
journalism, (Zoglin 1997). Of course these shows need to work hard on their stories, but
their reasons are not always for the sake of reporting the truth.
Tabloid news programs serve the purpose of entertainment for the public, and in order to
ensure good ratings, they must produce the best stories. These stories seem well put
together and researched, but this should not make them seem any more truthful than the
thrown-together, late- breaking and unorganized news we see on legitimate news program.
Deborah Baldwin wrote about how the media spoon-feeds us the news and how the general
public routinely eats it up (Moser 1998). Media is so caught up in ratings, cash and the
bottom line that other quality factors are thrown aside. Language is altered, the truth
is stretched and the flesh is multiplied. Unfortunately, most Americans eat it up every
day. There is a problem that society must deal with. This problem is that as long as
there are people who will tune into these tabloid news shows and accept the information
that they receive as truth, these shows will be getting exactly what they want and will
continue to confuse the public for entertainment value.
Joshua Gamson argues that all of the major networks risk their trust-based credibility
and televise only audience-attractive stories (Gamson 1997). Tabloid shows may try to
change their reputation, but the reality seems to be that many people know that these
shows are questionable but tune in anyway. People are confused by the information they
receive and will be as long as they allow themselves access to shows that will alter the
truth of a topic.
In 1996, during the O.J. Simpson trial, two news/ media shows were both observed and
compared. The focus was on what was the main story and how were they presented. Bruce
Sanford of Media Studies Journal evaluates the difference in free press and free trial.
The fact of the matter is, an innocent until proven guilty mindset is thrown out the
window when it comes to a case of this media covered caliber, The phrases free press and
fair trial are Anglo-American ideals, often presented as if they are at odds with each
other. He continued by saying Since the mid-1980's no decision has addressed the media's
First Amendment rights to cover the courts, reflecting a judicial attitude towards the
media, bordering on contempt (Sanford 1998). The two shows evaluated in the study clearly
handicapped Mr. Simpson in a fair trial arrangement. They twisted, manipulated and
controlled what the public would think and feel about the O.J. trial.
Students from North Central College conducted a small, on-campus experiment. The TV
Reality survey showed evidence that television has changed people's perception of
reality. The students were given a short quiz that tested to see what kind of information
they were receiving from the news and media. One of the points was to see how effective
and accurate the information was to the students. 
One of the questions asked was What is the homicide rate in America per one hundred
thousand population? More than the majority of the students whom took the survey was
incorrect upon answering this question. TV and the media have slowly over-saturated our
mainstream of thinking so that what we see on TV is what we perceive as truth. When in
actuality, nothing could be farther from the truth. An explanation why so many people
were wrong again is that the average television viewer witnesses over six killings a day,
over twenty- two hundred in a year. In a related finding, Janet Fink from the Journal of
Physical Education discovered that female athletes have been underrepresented in the
media for quite some time. Studies show that only %15 of coverage in newspapers and %5 of
television air time has been given to covering female athletes. (Fink 1998)
These experiments and surveys correlate with another experiment conducted by John Steel,
A survey has indicated that around two-thirds of young people base their moral judgements
on how a decision made them feel and whether it helped them succeed. Electronic media
support these views and increase the importance of self (Steel 1997). The on-campus
experiment contained statistical questions that pertained to situations that people may
have learned about on television. The answers to these questions could easily have been
influenced by what was said on television. This theory was known to be true shortly after
the results from the survey were collected. In fact, there was not a single question that
was answered correctly by even half of the students surveyed, and most of the time, a
majority of people gave answers which reflect the images that television portrays.
There are many ways that television psychologically affects people through tabloid news
and other TV programming. John Hibbing agrees that television can cause a psychological
disturbance. Mass media coverage in the United States affects people's emotional
reactions more than their cognitive evaluations of public figures. (Hibbing &
Theiss-Morse 1998). If this were to maintain habit throughout the United States, it would
take in the form of a progressive stimulant. There'd be no rationalized thoughts. The
more we 'd view theses shows the more in apt we'd get to any thought of rationalization.
We'd just respond to our feelings. One way that this is done is through the cognitive
dissonance theory. At first one might believe in his own opinion, but after he finds out
that a majority of people disagree with him he might change his mind because TV tells us
that a majority is always right. Prejudice is another psychological effect that
television uses to grab the attention of its viewers. They take advantage of the fact
that people have preconceptions and try to influence people on their prejudices. The
third effect discussed is informational social influence. This is the biggest effect in
that the television programs try to make you believe that everything that is portrayed in
their shows is true. Through out the research on media manipulation and deceivement, it
was found that many literary sources agreed that tabloid news altered the truth to get
more viewers to watch their show and to boost the ratings. They also manipulate the
public by sensationalizing their stories for entertainment purposes. The producers do not
care whether or not the story is educational or true just as long as people watch the
show. Their main goal is to draw the people in. It does not matter what subject they
cover, as long as people are watching. 
Works Cited
Browne, Beverly A. (1998). Gender stereotypes in advertising on children's television in
the 1990's: a 
cross-national analysis. Journal of Advertising, 27, 83-97.
Daschmann, Gregor and Kepplinger, Hans Mathias. (1997). Today's news-tomorrow's context:
a dynamic 
model of news processing. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 41, 548-566.
Fink, Janet S. (1998). Female Athlete's and the media: strides and stalemates. Journal of
Physical 
Education, Recreation and Dance, 69,37-42.
Garnson, Joshua. (1997). Gimmicks and props, the world in TV advertising. Journal of
Broadcasting, 
51, 345-355.
Hibbing, John R. and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse. (1998). The media's role in public
negativity toward 
Congress: Distinguishing emotional reactions and cognitive evaluations. Journal of
Political Science, 42, 475-499.
Moser, H. Ronald and Wayne E. Nelson. (1998). How consumers view advertising by
optometrists. The 
Social Science Journal, 35, 445-454.
Myers, Mark. (1997). Theory's and notions behind TV gimmicks. Journal of Science
Communication, 
31, 124-135.
Sanford, Bruce W. (1998). The trumped-up conflict between freedom of the press and the
right to a fair 
trial. Media Studies Journal, 12, 2-11.
Seel, John. (1997). Plugged in, spaced out, and turned on: electronic entertainment and
moral minefields. 
Journal of Education, 179, 17-33.
Zoglin, Richard. (1997). Tabloids and their exploitation in the media. Journal of Media
Research, 35, 
156-178. 
American Journal of Political Science, April 1998 v42 n2 p475(24).
Title: The media's role in public negativity toward Congress:
distinguishing emotional reactions and cognitive evaluations.
Author: John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse 
Source: Journal of Education, Fall 1997 v179 n3 p17(16).
Title: Plugged in, spaced out, and turned on: electronic entertainment
and moral minefields.
Author: John Seel
Source: Journal of Advertising, Spring 1998 v27 n1 p83(14).
Title: Gender stereotypes in advertising on children's television in the
1990s: a cross-national analysis.
Author: Beverly A. Browne
Source: International Journal of Advertising, May 1998 v17 n2 p233(21).
Title: Perceptions of the media in three different cultures: the US,
Australia & Taiwan.
Author: Henry C.K. Chen and Dean Allmon
Source: The Social Science Journal, July 1998 v35 n3 p445(9).
Title: How consumers view advertising by optometrists.
Author: H. Ronald Moser and Wayne E. Nelson
Source: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Fall 1997 v41 n4
p548(18).
Title: Today's news - tomorrow's context: a dynamic model of news
processing.
Author: Hans Mathias Kepplinger and Gregor Daschmann
Source: Media Studies Journal, Wntr 1998 v12 n1 p2(9).
Title: No contest: The trumped-up conflict between freedom of the press
and the right to a fair trial.
Author: Bruce W. Sanford
Source: Journal of Contemporary History, July 1998 v33 n3 p419(31).
Title: Television's visual impact on decision-making in the USA, 1968:
the Tet Offensive and Chicago's Democratic National Convention.
Author: David Culbert
Source: Journal of Contemporary History, July 1998 v33 n3 p419(31).
Title: Television's visual impact on decision-making in the USA, 1968:
the Tet Offensive and Chicago's Democratic National Convention.
Author: David Culbert
Source: JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 
August 1998 v69 n6 p37(5).
Title: Female athletes and the media: strides and stalemates.
Author: Janet S. Fink
Television and Media Effect
On the Public
Psychology 100 
Quotes for paper
In the last few decades, social
norms for behavior, actual roles occupied by men and women, and media
regulatory policies have changed.-Browne 83
In order to make advertising
effective in different cultures, an understanding of the language,
connotations of symbols, media availability and media perceptions of different
countries is critical for a media planner of a multinational firm.- Henry C.K. Chen and
Dean Allmon 34
Some people will use more
news, some will have a more adequate understanding of it and some might
remember the contents better, but these differences are due to social factors
such as education and status within society, not to character traits arising
from individual life experience.- The numerous studies on the reception or the effects of
news programs can be
placed on an imaginary continuum according to the degree of how actively they
define the role of the recipient-Hans Mathias Kepplinger and Gregor Daschmann 549 both
A survey has indicated that around two-thirds of young people
base their moral judgements on how a decision made them feel and whether it
helped them succeed. Electronic media support these views and increase the
importance of self.- John Seel 20
The nature of political news as presented by the mass media in the
modern United States is such that it affects people's emotional reactions more
than their cognitive evaluations of political actors and institutions.- John R. Hibbing
and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse 480
The phrases free press and fair trial are Anglo-American ideals,
often presented as if they are at odds with each other.- Since the mid-1980s no decision
has
addressed the media's First Amendment rights to cover the courts, reflecting a
judicial attitude towards the media, bordering on contempt. 5
Studies show that female athletes have long been underrepresented in media,
accounting for only 15% of coverage in newspapers and 5% of television air
time.- Janet S. Fink 40