Gatekeeping and Concepts of Self in Media
Gatekeepers – Traditional Media
I am at the mercy of gatekeepers in traditional media. I tend to watch and listen to the same channels on television and the radio, therefore I ingest information that has been filtered, edited, carefully crafted and deemed appropriate for the interests of the media outlet and its audience. These news stories are sound bites that fit in a 20 minute format and in the case of local news are ripe with tantalizing headlines dealing with:
• Murder
• Other crimes
• Car accidents
• Political misdeeds
What has changed our news from journalism to a wrapped up piece of sensationalism?
The Tool and Desensitization
Let’s take local television network news for instance. In the case of television news, the tool itself has helped shape what we view now. Due to the length of the actual time allowed (20 minutes) for the news stories and 10 minutes of sponsors’ advertising, it is very difficult to dive too deeply into social issues or other issues of substance. In order to keep the audience interested and not willing to change the channel, the news is filled more with sensationalism than journalism. Can this be due to our (the audience) desensitization from what media is serving up these days such as:
• Violent programming in our homes and theatres
• Sexually explicit programming in our homes and theatres
• Violence in the news
• The ability for us to be closer than ever to public figures through the media
Gone are the days of Murrow, Cronkite, and the Huntley-Brinkley team. These were the unattractive stalwarts of television journalism in the infancy of television news anchormen. Put these anchormen next to Brian Williams of NBC or the line up of lovelies at Fox News today and they would pale in comparison by appearance.
Could This Guy Get a Job in Television Today?
People on television news these days are beautiful. The women on Fox News appear as if they were hatched from a cookie cutter of perfection and eerily look enough alike to be sisters. Are these people who read the news to us becoming as homogenous as the news itself?
I doubt if poor old Chet Huntley could even get an interview these days. He might be brilliant and have much to say, but honestly, could we tolerate his lack of beauty for 20 minutes? I doubt it. I want my news to be buffered by blinding beauty when it is delivered to me. I want to fixate on what the anchor person is wearing or what color tie Brian is wearing or what Gretchen's hair looks like. That will somewhat lessen the impact of the ugliness of the content.
The Persuasive Role of Music
Music can change our perception of what we are viewing. By changing the tone, rhythm or melody, the audience can be transported from a scene of serenity to one of danger. If the visual is changed, only it is changed, not the music. However if the music is changed, the essence of the visual is changed. When music is combined with a visual, is the music the core of the media experience?
Nostalgia
Some music brings back memories of a visual. The music may have been written long before the visual was produced that it is associated with, but it can certainly transport one back to that associative instance when it was heard in the context of the film:
- “Shout” – Otis Day and the Knights, Animal House
- “Damn it Feels Good 2 Be a Gangsta” – The Geto Boys, Office Space
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen, Wayne’s World
- “An der schönen blauen Donau” – Johann Strauss II, 2001 a Space Odyssey
- “Also Sprach Zarathustra” – Richard Strauss, 2001 a Space Odyssey (and countless Elvis concerts)
Shopping
Music plays a very large role in shopping. Have you noticed the music in department stores, grocery stores, even at gas pumps? I wonder if it is so pervasive that people don’t notice it unless it is annoying. Music can:
- energize people shopping for clothes
- soothe people at spas
- provide a sense of well-being at grocery stores
- provide entertainment at gas pumps
Of course on the flip side, it can be annoying if it is not used appropriately. How about heavy metal at the spa? Or classical music at Old Navy? To be affective, the audience and their activity have to be considered. In other words, when used to persuade shoppers, music has to be in context to be affective.
Despite where it is used and why, music continues to be the age old tool that moves us.
How Plugged in Are You?
Uber Worker
I picture our world as a giant network of millions of wires connecting people, places and things. Connectivity has accelerated to a point that there is now a blur of that previous sacred line that separated “at work” and “not at work.” The benefits of being able to conduct work from anywhere away from the office are huge. One of the benefits is the potential for increased productivity. By being plugged in via the iPhone, Blackberry, laptop with wireless or broadband, or a home-bound computer, workers can communicate easily with clients, vendors and co-workers and perform work from anywhere.
Leisure Time
If our productivity and time “at work” are increasing, then our leisure time is suffering. Our way of life is more hurried and we are rushing our children along with us. The art of relaxation seems to be lost. People appear to have a need to be plugged in whether they are playing video games or listening to their iPods. Is this relaxation for them? Probably not in the sense of truly removing all external stimuli and just “not doing” for a while. As we are on the treadmill of living, do we realize that the progress of technology has set us back to earlier days when (due to a lack of technology) we worked very long hours to ensure productivity was optimal? Have we really progressed as a society?
Learnings from the Critical Thinking Portion of NSO
Three Things I Didn’t Know Before:
- Kubrick selected the music for “2001 A Space Odyssey”
- Music is a powerful influencer
- I probably knew this but didn’t consider how much time I spend “plugged in” to work even when I’m not there
Two Things I Will Tell Colleagues:
- My professors are incredibly talented individuals and I’m lucky to get to work with them
- The NSO Santa Barbara was an inspiring time that allowed for thinking, learning and exploring
One change I Will Make in My Own Professional Practice
I will tell my team about the power of critical thinking which will help them dealing with often illogical and emotional situations.
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