bourdieu

This article made me realize how powerless everyone really is. Bourdieu says, “Through pressure from audience ratings, economic forces weigh on television, and through its effect on journalism, television weighs on newspapers and magazines…the weight then falls on individuals journalists, who little by little let themselves be drawn into television’s orbit” (335). Pretty much a loop of people and forces exist, each limiting the other. Television limits audience’s receipt of information. Censoring information and giving information which isn’t exactly true. For example, they can decide on what stories they tell, how they tell them, and what filming techniques they use to present the story. For instance in an article we read in cmc100, tv fosters a sense of fear. We all think our house is going to get broken in to. We have distorted views of minority groups. We think everyone who is marginalized is also a vicious killer. The portrayals help to keep the marginalized marginalized. And the media conglomerates know what they are doing. They are the puppeteers pulling the strings on their journalist marionettes. Pushing them in the way of “right” stories. Stories that fit into their ideals and don’t really contradict their culture. After I watched part of Outfoxed in cmc200, I decided to rent it and learn all I could about Fox. I really could not believe how ridiculous the system was. Journalists were told what stories to present. And if they did anything outside of Fox-like reporting, they were fired. Journalists who want jobs have to say what the media giants want them to say. And the media giants want certain stories to be told that benefit them. Stories that keep the audience watching. Every night there is some new update on the Casey Anthony case. Every day new information comes about and somehow they use this information to fill tons of time. Talking about this case distracts from real problems. (I’m not saying this isn’t a real problem, but every day talking about her text messages, her google searches, and her parents just saying they want to find Caylee is just a filler distraction.)

Kelsey Pike. Bourdieu.