HERE IS MY ANSWER:
Indeed, the political process involves strategic messaging to the public to enhance candidates’ chances of being elected. How is “must-runs” different than political advertising? What similarities and differences to them have on the voting process?
According to chapter 3, media houses take an economic trajectory, and by incorporating conservative political agendas, they can drive viewership, thus increasing their profitability (Croteau & Hoynes, 2019). Sinclair’s “must-runs” appeal to the demand of conservative agendas of the conservative base, hence increasing viewership, which facilitates profitability.
Some media houses have been able to drive conservative agendas overtime, thus influencing the United States’ democratic process. Some of the citizens will make decisions during elections based on media content. For instance, Sinclair supporting the ‘fake news’ tag embraced by President Trump tends to appeal to the conservative base, thus influencing citizens’ position in a democratic process. According to David Croteau and William Hoynes (2019), most people interact with the media, which affects their socialization, behavior, and opinions. Therefore, a news feed that highly supports a conservative plan compared to other positions will shape an individual’s socialization and political support, hence influencing how they vote. The media companies are entitled to the provision of tasks such as platforms, products, and pipes (Croteau & Hoynes, 2019). mainly This proves to be a vital technic as far as media is concerned. However, emphasizing only the economics of media is just but an incomplete way from which we can have a perception of the relationship between mass media and society.
“Must-runs” may take a political trajectory or support a particular agenda without due to the insistence by a specific media station to run one accurate report. As mentioned above, the strategy is similar to forcing a journalist to cover a particular story since it can go against their will or ethics. On the other hand, the station can manipulate the “must-run” to ensure they air when most audiences watch the television; however, this is not the case to forcing a journalist to cover particular reports since there are no time specifics.
Questions regarding my post:
Indeed, the political process involves strategic messaging to the public to enhance candidates’ chances of being elected. How is “must-runs” different than political advertising? What similarities and differences to them have on the voting process?
Answer the questions here (around 70 words):
Sample response to the discussion post below:
You raise good points about news media’s attempt or at least the goal of being objective that gets trampled on by big business and political ties. On the idea of being fair, however, how do you think opinion pieces fit into that structure? Many news organizations like the NY Times have Op-Ed sections for different beliefs about a range of topics. I think they are essential because they allow different ideas to be explained and examined thoroughly. They permit different, new, or non-mainstream views an avenue to be considered. These articles are also clearly labeled as opinions and are not presented as facts or “hard news.”
Discussion post:
Sinclair’s “must-runs” is related to the demands of commercial news media. They show how companies use their interest to sway consumers’ or media users’ seeing/hearing. Notably, This, in turn, has impacts on agency and how consumers will then act toward different structures in their lives.
The relationship between these “must-runs” to citizen knowledge and democratic participation is a lot of bias and misinformation. When media companies push for specific information to be published, consumers begin to listen to bias instead of concrete facts on which they can build their position. Mainly This inevitably leads consumers to start adhering to the company’s personal preferences and ways of thinking instead of using their thoughts and opinions to judge how they interact with the world around them. These unfortunate issues are what arise when conglomerates exist in the industry. When the ownership of media is concentrated within a few companies, businesses tend to focus more on profit than on truth and authenticity, which can lead to executives pushing their agenda rather than providing factual information.
In my own opinion, I believe these “must-runs” are very similar to a news editor dictating what is written about in a particular story because they both involve the action of forcing trusted media personnel to convey a specific message. The way I see these two situations differing is in the sense that “must-runs” are more informal and utilize only a portion of total media time. In contrast, an editor dictating what a story state encompasses a large piece of the news being published and has the potential to be more impactful.
Leave a comment for this answer (100 words):
The post is entertaining and educational. I am glad to learn that the political process involves strategic messaging to the public to enhance candidates’ chances of being elected. I support your claim that Sinclair’s “must-runs” share some similarities with the demands of commercial news media. They show how companies use their interest to sway what consumers, or media users, are perceiving. I agree that the difference between these “must-runs” and citizen knowledge and democratic participation is based on bias and misinformation. When media companies push for specific information to be published, consumers begin to listen to bias instead of concrete facts on which they can build their position. I also support your opinion that these “must-runs” are very similar to a news editor dictating what is written about in a particular story because they both involve the action of forcing trusted media personnel to convey a specific message. The post is interesting to reread.
Discussion Question
What is the relationship between Sinclair’s “must-runs” and the demands of commercial news media concerning voting?
Discussion post:
Sinclair is emphasizing objectivity by preventing reporters from being able to personalize their own stories and making the news restricted and political. Sinclair’s “must-runs” is related to the commercial news media demands because local journalists want to make their own decisions about what information is shared. They don’t like having to read “centrally produced” material. They don’t want to be a ‘propaganda outlet’ pushing a political view or one side of the story.
The relationship between these “must-runs” to citizen knowledge and democratic participation is that Sinclair feels that the ‘must-runs’ help separate the news stations from others because the ‘must-runs’ promote the news stations as a ‘reliable information source.” However, this ‘ must-runs” makes people think it is reliable information when it might not be. The viewer or reader may not get both sides of the story, have a full picture of a situation, and a variety of viewpoints or perspectives may be covered. News broadcasters need to make an emphasis on their problems per state or location.
Finally, ‘must-runs’ are similar to a news editor telling a journalist to cover a particular story because someone dictates the content and what the journalists say. The local journalist isn’t able to report on what they think is of interest or principal that day or to those watching or reading the news; they are being told what is important. It would be different because the local news editor is looking at what is essential to the local community. Telling a journalist what to cover and allowing the journalist to put it in their own words is different than a company making a script. The journalists have to read these ‘must-runs’ feel like ‘hostages’ in their profession.
Leave a comment for this answer (100 words)-raise a question at the end:
The post is informative. I am glad to learn that the political process involves strategic messaging to the public to enhance candidates’ chances of being elected. I am pleased to learn that Sinclair’s ‘must-runs’ are similar to the commercial news media demands since both the local journalists and ordinary citizens are ever focused on sharing the data they have in hand. They do not like having to read ‘centrally produced’ material. I agree that the difference amongst the political adverts and must run to citizen knowledge and democratic participation is that Sinclair feels that the ‘must-runs’ help separate the news stations from others because the ‘must-runs’ promote the news stations as a reliable information source. I also support that ‘must-runs’ are similar to a news editor telling a journalist to cover a particular story because someone dictates the content and what the journalists say. Finally, I agree that instructing a journalist to include and allowing the journalist to put it in their own words is different from a company making a script. The post is exciting.
Discussion Question
What is the comparison between Sinclair’s “must-runs” and the demands of commercial news media concerning political participation?