Entry #3 - A Slanted World
There are seven billion people in the world and with many people in the world comes a lot of news, drama, and information that can spread worldwide. News journals, articles, and interviews are all ways that people can get the latest updates on what is happening in the world today. Anywhere from two to three million news articles are published every day; both online and offline. These information sources can range from celebrity gossip, sports updates, and the latest political debates. With so many different articles being published a day, how do we know which ones to trust? Certain news sources such as CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News are notorious for leaning one way or another on the political spectrum which can lead to biased and opinion-based information that leads the reader or viewer without the facts.
Word influence is a major key when speaking or writing to an audience. The words you chose help dictate the feeling and emotion of the topic discussed; CNN does this in countless articles. "Biden finds GOP’s chaos a helpful contrast but an unwelcome distraction" and "Chris Christie reacts to Trump's dangerous rhetoric" both use negative words and connotations that clearly tell the viewer the opinion of the source. Not only are there negative words, but the correlation and connection of these words help to give that opinionated feel. "GOP Chaos" and "Trump's Dangerous Rhetoric" include feeling words instead of fact words. The way the articles and interviews are set are, are to lead the audience such as in the Chris Christie interview they include only a section of the interview with Trump and give no context behind the video clip.
As a viewer myself, I see that and think "What other information are they not including and why?" When giving information out to the public, many sources only give select bits and pieces and personally I begin to see that source as not credible. I want to know the facts. I want to know the entire story about it and come to formulate my own opinion instead of the opinion of others and who knows if the source fixed the fact to form a feeling. The story the source reports on may be correct, like in the Chris Christie interview, a Republican member agreed with what was being said in context, but it is all about delivery and credibility. Using negative words that have emotion is not a good way to present the facts.
In the CNN article, it concludes with a quote stated by President Biden:
It’s time to stop fooling around. House Republicans, it’s time for you to do your job to stop fooling around.
Now the issue in articles like these is the direct attacks on the Republican Party. What CNN had failed to mention was the problems and wrongdoings they did themselves, yet proceeded to bash the Republican Party without mentioning the failures of the democratic party as well.
Finding a good, reliable source is hard and that is why you have to do your research. Looking into multiple articles and finding the entire story, not what the media wants you to see or believe. Learn how to think for yourself and create your own opinion based on research you have conducted yourself with reliable sources. Paying attention to what we see and read is extremely important in today's world and not allowing the media to control what we think, feel, or even believe.
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