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... italy just act to reinforce or affect those that are already prone to such tendencies. These examples have been noted as possible indications of the effects of the mass media through the means of expression of television violence, but the media is accused of also acting in more subliminal ways when looked at through the vehicle of the print based and television news. News The mass media present a stereotyped picture of life, which can often lead to undesirable prejudices within not just national, but international, society. The mass media and in particular the television and print based news are often accused as being a significant source, in wide ranging and varied ways, of enhancing common stereotypes. It is argued now that in the case of women, ethnic groups, the disabled, certain professions, the old, the physically unattractive and even nationalities are all presented according to accepted stereotypes.
As the war on terrorism in Afghanistan rages on the news that has come from that region has had exactly the same type of subliminal messaging that was continually occurring in the Gulf War press. The aim of that journalism was to distinguish the language concerning both sides that were at war. During the Gulf War the descriptions given to the opposite sides were of a distinct nature as to enhance the British reputation and to condemn the Saddam regime. British troops took out, suppressed and eliminated their opposition because of an old fashioned sense of duty because they are professionals, brave and lion-hearted, whereas Saddam's army simply killed and destroyed because they feared Saddam and were cowardly and Bastards of Baghdad (Osullivan, Dutton, Rayner: 1998: 80).
These binary oppositions are used as a form of media propaganda, the conscious manipulation of information in order to gain political advantage. By using the media as a tool of manipulation the Conservative government of the Gulf War era and the Labour government of the present day have effectively stereotyped the opposition in order to provide national unity and enhance their own political agendas. Studies have also been carried out to study the effects of television on political behaviour, with Blumler (1970) as just one, concluding that television had little or no discernible influence over the viewer. Construction of the news is another way in which the mass media can have an influence over the masses. Through the placement of certain aspects of, for example, a news feature or the selective process made by editors it preserves the notion of media influence continually.
Television and print based news, due primarily to their fixation with crime and violence arguably has a pessimistic impact upon our societal behaviour. The news can be described as being an oxymoron; giving us the skin of the truth stuffed with a lie. I personally do not concur with this as I consider that generally news does not lie, except it does not inform the audience of the entire truth by omitting the less interesting and dramatic parts. A news program is primarily focused on the facts, but for the purposes of television and the print based media they tend to emphasise on the dramatic, generally violent stories and images to capture and sustain its audience, under the facade of keeping it informed. The medias influence through the news is that it affects the public both consciously and subconsciously, and in some cases sends us about our lives unnecessarily fearing the remote dangers that we see excessively portrayed in the news. Stereotyping Children's programmes especially have a tendency to amplify stereotypes, presenting "goodies" and "baddies within episodes.
The confirmation of their stereotypes may makes children feel more comfortable with themselves if they can place someone within a group. Also some children often only have their contact with some minority groups through the television. Greenfield (1984) found that Sesame Street's use of ethnic and disabled minorities has had positive affects on children, particularly those from the minority groups who feel greater cultural pride and self-confidence. Certain events are over-reported, such as violent or sex crimes, and this acts to alter public opinion. Cohen (1965) suggests that the media creates moral panics by widely reporting an initially minor event, which leads to further comprehensive reports, detection of causes or troublemakers. Radio Cantril (1940) is often referred back upon as a classic example of how the mass media can influence through the gaining of trust.
It refers to an incident in the late thirties that caused a widespread public panic in America after a radio station broadcast of H. G. Wells fictional narrative War of the Worlds. The production involved a series of news bulletins in which the reporter gave a live account of a Martian invasion. A lot of listeners had tuned in a few moments after the show had begun and so, apparently unaware that the programme was of a fictitious nature, believed what they were hearing was the truth and so began becoming hysterical, with some taking to the streets and others even packing up their belongings as quickly as they could and driving off in order to avoid the attacks. Cantril's study was the documentation of media-social relations at the time and so the invasion pointed towards the influence that the radio had over the masses, as they truly believed the broadcast.
The primary factor in the invasion was the trust that the public had in radio journalism being unwittingly extended to a practical simulation. What was evident from this episode was the steady, gradual and routine influence that the mass media as a whole had exerted, led to the radio broadcasts listeners faith that they were being attacked (John Corner: 2000: 385). This case has been cited as being an excellent example of the Hypodermic Needle Model, a hypothesis which asserts that the media are dominant agents of influence, capable of injecting ideas and behaviours directly into fairly inert audiences of isolated individuals. It could also be marked down as not only showing the behavioural changes that can arise from a single piece of media output but also the underlying example of media influence that experts have looked for through experiments or fieldwork. Conclusion In closing, there are perceived to be constantly changing views on the influence that is exerted by the mass media. At first there was the attitude that the media was forcing itself upon us in such a way as to exert its influence and shape our beliefs, actions and values.
Now though as time has moved on, theorists are thinking about this area of research in other ways and through diverse approaches. There was a shift in the perspective of researchers within audience reception in the seventies and is evident none more so than in the statement made by James Halloran (1970): We must get away from the habit of thinking in terms of what the media do to people and substitute for it the idea of what people do with the media. The technological determinist view, which states an overemphasis on the part of the mass media as the major, if not solitary cause of societal and cultural changes, which have effected actions and beliefs, is not the view that I personally would concur with. In my opinion the mass media is an incredible tool of persuasion and could influence somebody undoubtedly. Mass media audiences are arguably on the whole not passive, and so the amount of influence that is exerted upon the recipient depends entirely on the individual.
As most pieces of media output are polemic in nature, meaning that it is capable of having different meanings and readings from person to person (Osullivan, Dutton, Rayner: 1998: 327), the way in which, or by how much, an individual is influenced is entirely through choice. Bibliography Osullivan, Dutton, Rayner: (1998): Arnold Publishers Studying The Media: Second Edition The following authors were cited from Studying The Media: Second Edition James Halloran (1970) Blumler and Katz (1974) James Curran & Michael Gurevitch: (2000): Arnold Publishers Mass Media And Society: Third Edition Chapter 19: John Corner: (2000) Within Chapter 19, written by John Corner the following authors were cited: Cantril (1940) Blumler (1970) John Eldridge, Jenny Kitzninger, Kevin Williams: (1997): Oxford Uni. Press Inc The Mass Media & Power In Modern Britain The following authors were cited from The Mass Media & Power In Modern Britain: Greenfield (1984) Friedrich and Stein United States Surgeon General Report Cohen (1965) Jane Root: (Unknown): (Unknown) Open The Box
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