The Politics of Illusion
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As W. Lance Bennett points out in his book News: The Politics of Illusion, Americans today are awash in news from newspapers, publications of every variety, books, broadcast television stations, radio stations, and cable, including 24-hour cable new outlets such as CNN, C-Span, and CNN Headline News. Yet, the question is raised as to how trustworthy all this news is and especially as to how true a picture of society is presented in these many news broadcasts. The question is raised in part because of the growing apathy apparent in the electorate and because of opinion polls which indicate that "many citizens--perhaps the majority--live in a state of confusion and ignorance about government and political issues." Another reason for the concern is the belief on the part of many that television news is biased, and those advocating this view usually see such bias as tilting toward the left, though in truth there are groups of all political persuasions that see television news as biased against their position and for an opposing position. An analysis of television news for the week of April 17-22 shows that there is indeed a bias in television news coverage, but it is not a political bias but a bias in favor of show business. A number of advocacy groups have expressed the belief that television news is biased either generally or on specific issues. The news media is part of the ruling establishment, and as such it has a certain stake in maintaining the status quo just as
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because of the intervening growth in mass media, including that giant of them all, television. Political campaigns use advertising in ways they never did in the past, and the advertising of forty, thirty, twenty, or even ten years ago for political campaigns is very different in tone, content, and degree of manipulation from what is being attempted and even accomplished today.
The week of April 17, 1995 provided television news with the opportunity to show both its best and its worst aspects, often at the same time. Little substantive or ideological difference could be seen among the news broadcasts of the three networks, their local affiliate stations, or CNN. There were clear similarities among these outlets in favor of what would sell and in the act of selling itself--stories were selected which sensationalized events, and often some "enhancement" of events was undertaken to make a news story even more of an "event" than it might have been otherwise. In addition, there was evidence of the trivialization of serious news as suggested by some critics. This was most evident in the decision on the part of two networks not to carry President Clinton's press conference. Presidential press conferences have always been conside
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1690
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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