Media & Culture (Part 4)

"Democratic Expression and the Mass Media"

Chapter 14: The Culture of Journalism
There are so many types of journalism in today's world, that we can get information from the world wide web besides TV and print. Although I understand that journalists are responsible for reporting the news, I think it is unnecessary that some unimportant issues are blown out of proportion and over-analyzed, such as the Obamas' fist bump as mentioned in the chapter. This chapter also brought my attention to public journalism. As much as I support the idea of the participation of "readers" and journalists in responding to the issues that are addressed, I feel that it will skew the purpose of journalism in order to satisfy what the readers want to know about. One of the other aspects of journalism mentioned in this chapter is the ethical predicaments. I think that journalists should deploy deception only when the case is very serious and needs awareness and change, such as the Nellie Bly case. Chasing celebrities around and invading their privacy in order to get a story, or fake a story, is certainly immoral and unprofessional.

Chapter 15: Media Effects
Media effects research sounds like a mission for the government to brainwash us. Even if they confirmed that violence in the media has an effect on the aggressive behaviors, will they ban violence in the media? A line from the chapter reads:

"Because most media research operates best in examining media and individual behavior, fewer research studies explore media's impact on community and social life."

Well, I think researchers should start researching more on the different issues that effect a larger population, such as smoking and drug use in movies, which I think have a bigger effect on more people than violence does. Cultural studies research, however, might be a hopeful solution for solving issues of race, gender, class and sexuality in the American society.

Chapter 16: Legal Controls

"When students from other cultures attend school in the United States, many are astounded by the number of books, news articles, editorials, cartoons, films, TV shows, and Web sites that make fun of U.S. presidents, the military, and the police."

I was one of those students, who grew up in Malaysia. I remember walking through the city one day and seeing various political posters, one in particular saying "Impeach Bush!" with a cartoon version of Bush. I remember thinking "Wow, how dare they make fun of the president like that." It was then I realized that the American citizens have the freedom of expression.
One thing from this chapter that surprised me is when I read that the "Happy Birthday" song is owned. And copyrighted! It is such a popular song that I've never even thought about that. Although FCC is in control of the media, the internet is such an accessible medium that it has become a home for freedom of expression, just read the comments from YouTube or read a forum.