Poisonous Airwaves By Mel

 

The disadvantages that television may impose on the public are propaganda messages from the media.  Media theorist Noam Chomsky explained the way the media has the ability to exploit persuasive tactics is very difficult to detect.  I agree with his statement because with low to no media literacy more than likely certain people will believe everything they hear and see without doing some research.  These types of people will follow any narrative that is presented to them by the television media.  For example, there is no link between television violence exposure and the tendency to behave aggressively but I do believe that it can influence a person’s behavior.  It amplifies people’s emotions, engages the young audience to extreme views in which sometimes the viewer’s perception becomes reality.  I feel when there is no parental guidance in the home, television provides an alternative source to plug in influential codes in a child’s mind who accept what they hear and see is the norm in society.  Dr. Albert Bandura, a psychologist developed “Social Learning Theory” in which we learn how to act both in private as well in public by certain behaviors on television.  For example the “WWE” a wrestling entertainment industry promotes extreme violence to approximately 320 televised events year broadcasting to about 36 million viewers in more than 170 countries according to WWE Corporate Live and Televised Entertainment.  The WWE creates a script-based compelling story line which includes characters, gimmicks which are not solved by negotiating or talking their issues out.  Instead, they are solved by physical violence displayed with athletic skills in the ring to enhance the conflict within the storyline.  We now have face to face contact on screen with headsets to play online with their friends, virtual games eliminates the social aspect with one another which can cause isolation.  Television is now an open-admission technology to which there are no cognitive or imaginative restraints for children.  This means without parental guidance or stricter FCC regulations sexual content and obscene language will continue to be display.  Another disadvantage is the media ownership of television.  The Telecommunications Act of 1996 had a huge impact on television.  This passage was supposed to create jobs but instead it eliminated the limit on the number a station can have which in turned made media corporations even bigger.  Corporations such as GE owns TV stations; cable, satellite networks which consist of CNBC, MSNBC and movie studios  Fox is owned by Murdoch’s News Corporation which also own TV stations, cable networks and TV stations.  I believed those who own multiple television networks have too much political and cultural power with little to no diversity in today’s television media industry.