Rachel Johnson
Perspectives Assistant
“Today Show” weatherman Al Roker took a break from predicting the weather to try his hand at investigative journalism last week. Venturing out onto the streets of New York, he proceeded to randomly stop people and ask them various questions regarding politics and pop culture.
I found the results to be alarming. The majority of those interviewed could correctly identify Demi Moore’s boyfriend, Ashton Kutcher. Only a small percentage of people could answer question about the structure of our government.
It appears that this celebrity gossip-focused mentality is valued more than the knowledge of our country’s political and current events.
An obvious example of this is the amount of coverage about Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride who planned her own disappearance to escape her wedding. Although the piece was undoubtedly of interest to the American public, the fact that it took prominence over so many other important issues is disturbing.
Although the media does not directly tell us what to think, it certainly seems that they tell us how to think. Corporate-controlled media have the power to choose the issues, facts and spokespeople who will be used to present the information to the public.
The media seems to be only concerned about the bottom line. This is the reason Jennifer Wilbanks and Natalie Holloway made wall-to-wall coverage.
Though many individuals are concerned about topics including hunger, homelessness, education and the environment, they undergo a false sense of security as a result of what is presented in journalistic media. The severity of these issues is downplayed because of the power the media has to dictate their presentation.
In an article written by Peter Mann for worldhungeryear.org, he reinforces the concept of the media’s manipulation of various issues. When the media does report on these topics, they do so in a way to “reinforce, and not disturb, the existing economic and social system” Mann said.
Mann also touches on the topic of society’s obsession with celebrity gossip, maintaining that the mass media often times “focuses on the charitable work of movie stars or rock musicians.” As a result, these actions come across as charitable rather than advocating social justice and change, boosting the image of the celebrity without raising awareness or interest in the cause.
So why is it that people find Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ love life more interesting and important than the Palestinian-imposed withdrawal of Israelis from the Gaza Strip? What is it about human nature that causes people to be more intrigued by Paris Hilton’s clothing style than by President Bush’s reasoning for maintaining troops in Iraq?
Perhaps it is because these heavier issues force us to think about injustices imposed upon others around the world. These kinds of topics cannot help but stir up emotion within us, allowing our conscience to remind us that drastic measures need to be taken for us to better the lives of others.
8-29-2005