role of the media in contemporary social problem

Week five reading notes

We have already begun to talk about the complicated role of the media in contemporary social problems. In the idealized social problems process, after a social problem is discovered (whether by movements or experts), the news media informs the public about the problem, and the public then calls on its political representatives to do something to solve the problem. How is the reality different from the ideal? Does the news only report on social problems, or does it also promote a point of view in its coverage? To put it another way, is the news objective in its reporting? And if not, why? These are the questions we will wrestle with, in the context of a media landscape that has changed dramatically, even in the last couple of years.

In lecture, I will discuss three ways in which the media may make it difficult to grasp the true seriousness and causes of social problems. By mainstream media, I mean newspapers like the New York Times, the LA Times, USA Today, the Orange County Register, and the Wall Street Journal, and television news like that on CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, and ABC (note: news, not news commentary or news analysis). Bias in the mainstream media, I will argue, lies less in reporters’ personal prejudices than in the standard practices reporters and editors use to make the news interesting. That has long been the case. But the media industry is different today than it was even fifteen years ago. Indeed, I will argue that the political polarization we see today—the fact that political liberals and conservatives dislike, disbelieve, and distrust each other—owes in part to developments in the media that reflect the demands of good business.

The article by Joel Best treats two “crime waves”: freeway violence and “wilding.” What role did the media play in creating those crime waves? In Best’s view, did journalists exaggerate the danger of wilding and freeway violence because they were personally biased? If not, what was going on? What does Best mean when he talks about “conventions” of journalism? How did journalistic conventions turn a few instances of aggression on California freeways into a crime wave? What does Best mean when he says that the media turns “incidents” into “instances”? Finally, Best compares freeway violence and wilding with drunk driving. Why did media coverage of drunk driving continue while coverage of freeway violence and wilding stopped fairly soon?

The second article, by journalist Caitlin Dickerson, describes what happened in a small town in Idaho a few years ago when a few residents heard that two boys, 10 and 7 years old, had sexually assaulted a young girl. What role did news organizations play in the ensuing controversy? Were reporters–were all reporters–just reporting the news? What was the problem in Fawnbrook, and how would you fix it?

The article by Tobias Rose-Stockwell is about the business of increasing consumers’ engagement in the news stories they read on social media. What’s wrong with personalizing the news for each consumer by way of a news feed algorithm, as Rose-Stockwell sees it? Note Rose-Stockwell’s point that people are engaged not only by stories that are outrageous but also by stories that confirm their pre-existing beliefs. What does that mean, and what’s wrong with it? And if you agree with Rose-Stockwell’s diagnosis of the problem, can you see any solutions?

Here are some questions to think about as you are reading and watching the lecture videos:

1. In Joel Best’s view, did journalists exaggerate the danger of wilding and freeway violence because they were personally biased? If not, what was going on? 

1. The article by Caitlin Dickerson describes what happened in a small town in Idaho when a few residents heard that two boys, 10 and 7 years old, had sexually assaulted a young girl. What role did news organizations play in the ensuing controversy? Were reporters–were all reporters–just reporting the news?

1. What’s wrong with personalizing the news for each consumer by way of a news feed algorithm, as Rose-Stockwell sees it? 

1. What kinds of news stories are people most likely to share on social media?

1. What are two major changes in the organization of the news media? What are the consequences of these trends? 

1. What are the reporting conventions that journalists follow to ensure that their stories are as objective as possible?