Monday, November 3, 2008

Media Coverage and the 2008 Election

Something that I have been following for the past 2 weeks that I think is interesting and might interest other people is the amount of news coverage Sarah Palin is getting in comparison to Joe Biden. In one of my other classes we focus alot on the media and have read several books on media coverage. We have looked at how the media only covers bad things or new things. A woman as a VP choice is a new thing. Violence and scandal often get the top air time because these stories get the most viewers. Sarah Palin has been covered on every major news station and has been very present on SNL but Joe Biden has really taken a backseat to the amount of coverage received. However the most coverage is given to her based on stupid things like how much she spends on clothes for the campaign and her pregnant daughter. The majority of coverage is not spent talking about anything important. There is not alot of policy coverage. It is really our own fault that the news has come to this. These are the stories that gain the most viewers and make the most money. I think it was said best by "Bad news sells best. Cause good news is no news." (Schudson)

Becky

2 comments:

Jen, the Cookie Empress said...

Yellow Journalism (what you are describing) has been around for a long time but popularized by Pulitzer and Hearst. It's shame we can't hear what the candidates are actually saying. Instead we are fed what they may or may not believe and petty details on personal lives.

Do you have suggestions for how to fix it? I'd like to hear another's perspective on this.

Tesekkür ederim said...

i know most politicians do it, but i think snl isn't the place for sarah palin, obama, or mccain. i'm not really sure what positives it brings and for some reason i think its kinda trashy. that palin rap song, i didn't think was funny at all, she just looked uncomfortable and out of place.

-Tom