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Media hype: Faculty,
students sound off
How does media coverage affect life on campus?
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Katrina Walker
Staff Writer
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Technological
advances in mass media allow American audiences to see things almost
as they happen and to follow American troops during Operation Iraqi
Freedom. Opinions from Appalachian State University students and
faculty vary on the news media’s impact during military action.
“I think it is important for Americans to be exposed to what
our military is doing in Iraq, but I think the media has focused
too much on the war,” freshman political science major Tiffany
Bradley said. “The world does not stop turning just because
America is at war. The media should also be providing coverage of
other significant news events around the world.”
“Some of this [reporting] is hyped; [it’s] just not very
responsible journalism,” media and politics professor Dan B.
German said.
This war is different than any other in the fact that the media
is “pervasively prevalent,” he said.
While watching the news, what an audience is exposed to is unpredictable.
Coverage is live, which means it is not filtered like regular broadcasts.
The audience sees graphic scenes and those scenes will turn America
off from war, he said.
“The element of surprise is a critical factor [in war]; a journalist
has the ability to tip the enemy off and this could lead to the
possible detriment of our own troops,” German said.
He said he believes Americans will start questioning involvement
in Iraq because non-stop news coverage and media promises of quick
victory make audiences impatient.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism has a code of regulations
for journalists who are embedded in war efforts.
According to the code, journalists have to obey the same ground
rules as the soldiers, live in the same circumstances and still
do their job as journalists.
In the event something was to happen to the journalist, it could
not be blamed on the group in which the journalist was embedded.
Before journalists leave the country, they agree to these regulations.
“Now that we have many different news networks covering the
war, the field has become so competitive; hard, factual news has
become soft news or ‘info-tainment,’” German said.
“What we need to see is hard news, not this sensationalized
material used to bring in higher ratings and commercial dollars.”
Department of philosophy and religion instructor Crystal J. Primeau
said you cannot make a distinction on whether or not the media is
being ethical.
“To decide whether it is morally ethical or not you have to
look at what counts to the person discerning the issue; the intent
of the news footage or the consequences of the news footage,”
Primeau said.
Sophomore music education major Ty J. Quinn said he believes all
the war coverage is fine.
“We need to show the American people what we are fighting for.
They’re out there to liberate the Iraqi civilians, not to hurt
but to help,” he said.
Psychology professor Mary E. Ballard said she thinks the media has
gone too far in showing so much news footage. “The media will
show anything that gets attention and higher ratings,” she
said.
Ballard said it is hard to get away from continuous news coverage
and find anything else. For some people, watching the news often
will cause them to generate an anxiety disorder for their family
members, soldiers and the Iraqi civilians.
Watching the news is entertaining for some and may lead to aggressive
and hostile behavior, Ballard said. |
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