How would the media conduct a campaign against a government.?

Question

The media is a business and is run for profit, can their opinions be trusted and would this be benifitical for our nation.

Answer 1

They have tried every thing they can against the President...

Answer 2

Good question. The media is really powerful in this regard, but they are also a slave to the public and the advertisers to some degree.

For good examples of media 'wars' against a government, check out archive newspapers and tv footage of the coverage of the Whitlam government's last 18 months in office.

Everything the government did was presented in the worst possible light, even to the extent that unflattering photographs and language was routinely used to describe even very ordinary matters.

It's a little like the current Belinda Neal furore in Australia.

Long before the police have made any enquiries, she had been tried in the court of the media and the results are plain ~ every photo used of her is unflattering, none are the grromed pics of publicity shots, they are all 'candid' shots of her looking grumpy, etc.

A little like the way right wing media routinely depicts Hillary Clinton ~ they have thousands of images to select, but almost always use one which shows her in an unflattering light.

In this way, the public is presented with a certain representation of the person.

Use of language is similarly contrived. Consider how certain words are used. Some people describing Fred Nile (NSW politician) might say he is a 'committed christian'. Coupled with a nice publicity photo of him with his hair done, a freshly pressed shirt, a kindly smile, soft lighting and a neutral background, an image is created of a conservative but friendly man ~ old fashioned but caring.

Now take the same man, get a pic of him holding a placard, hair dishevelled, mouth open and angry face, yelling at a passer by, and couple it with the caption 'hard line right wing politician Fred Nile, who uses the title 'reverend' is pictured in a heated exchange with father of four Bill Smith" and ~ without saying anything false ~ you have created the impression that Nile is a bit of a whacko, that he has socially anti-progressive views and shouts at people a lot.

It's not the same warm, friendly image and although most of us know the press can manipulate these things, it does impact our thinking and the way we feel about things, often without us even realising it.

Another excellent example is the constant, unrelenting 'war' the Murdoch newspapers have run against the royal family in the UK over several decades.

Once considered respectable and admirable in the public mind, the royal family are now little more than fodder for headlines, with every minute detail of their lives examined and mocked.

While this might seem trivial when it comes to talking about the royal choice in cereal, toothpaste and etc (all subjects which have been discussed in the UK newspapers), the 'damage' is incremental, with each little piece adding day by day over several decades into the received public 'wisdom' that the royal family are a certain type of people who do certain things.

Of course, this is almost entirely illusory. Even if we know which brand of cereal someone eats, we still do not 'know' them, but it has helped create the modern celebrity cult or fixation.

So, no, I would not say to trust any single media representation. Instead, read and view widely and from as many different types of sources as possible, and even then, remain cynical!

Cheers :-)

Answer 3

People who are in business are there in business so that they are not out of business. Media is a very big business.

Only 'nation' takes credit, craves for profit. If it has a stake or develops one in business like America whose government says its business is 'business' then the story has a happy ending under the present international dispensation.

Answer 4

The media is run by men - Therefore, there is a focus on sport, sport, sport, and sexism galore.... So no, their opinions can not be trusted necessarily, because they will always be biased however they like.

The media industry is massive, and ALL about money. In saying that, money buys anything you want! Media is a mega-power and in so many ways, government relies on the media to get their messages across to the people.