The Power of Tragedy

Tragedy is medias biggest successor; it’s a captivator of audience. Media and the demand for 24/7 news, the causes and the consequences are the focus of Daya Kishan Thussu’s “Live TV and Bloodless Deaths: War, infotainment and 24/7 News” and Kieran Baker’s “Conflict and Control: The war in Afghanistan and 24-hour News Cycle.” They cover media’s ins and outs from “infotainment” to “The pressures of live reporting” and the direct relationships between business, tragedy and the quality of a news report.

Both writers take a different approach to the topic of 24/7 media, Thussu is more factual and political while Baker writes his personal experience as a journalist. These two articles go hand in hand and tie nicely together, complimenting their qualities and agreeing perspectives on the story. Thussu gives the facts about the story and explains it on a large over view making the situation clear to understand while Baker gives this captivating introduction, especially as an American he writes in a way that I can connect with him, “To me, the destruction of the World Trade Center seemed to rock the United States in almost biblical proportions – here was a country that appeared invincible, yet had taken an epic blow.” I have biases of course and it may be different in the eyes of a non-American.

             “Live TV and Bloodless Deaths: War, Infotainment and 24/7 News” exploits the direct relationship between the two and exposing the populations desire for drama. Thussu claims that media is just as much of a news report as it is entertainment. Thussu also writes, “presentation becomes as important as the content of a report”. For instance an attractive news anchor to a not so attractive news anchor – they say it all the time in architecture, “Poor craft over powers good concepts” which means if you have an ugly drawing, it’s hard to see past the flaws to analyze the real subject. Baker agrees with Thussu’s claim on infotainment, “ The growing demands and expectations of television news reminds me increasingly of how the film industry operates.” It’s easy to agree that the more entertaining the news, the more compelling it is to watch – unfortunate but true. It’s like watching a soap opera or real-life television, the ridiculousness and drama is entertaining, and for news, the fact that it’s a real life situation is what makes it even more dramatic then a television show.

            Because people desire drama and entertainment, it is clear that news viewing fluctuates with the media subject, particularly with war. I’m sure there’s psychology behind why people seek extreme tragedy; they (as do I) wouldn’t care to watch a little fender bender on the Main St. because it happens every other day. But war on the other hand is uncommon, like a diamond, it is expensive and rare. There’s also the good news that are equally as vital and I’m sure are equally as popular; events such as a technological break-through, a cure for cancer (if there was one) or a launch to the moon. But the rarity of something so significant is even more infrequent then war these days. Baker brings up the consequences of 24/7 news casting when you’re running out of tragic material, “ As the military campaign broadened so did the aspirations of television news executives, who were trying hard to maintain interest for the audience as the initial ratings declined.” Unfortunately I see that most of the world revolves around money and frankly, media, CNN, Fox, Times …etc. are businesses, they make money on the viewers and the more viewers they have the more money they make, so what happens when there’s no calamity to tell of?

This brings up the quality of the news that’s provided and the trueness of the source. In a previous study on the shooting at the Empire State Building that occurred just this month, I found that different news reports seemed to broadcast their own versions of the event. Nation Public Radio made the assailant seem like he started open firing at people on a crowded street, injuring nine people and killing one. While New York Times describes the shooter of having only one intentional victim and the other nine bystanders may have accidentally been shot by the officers at the scene. Neither NPR or NY Times are providing false information, they are simply choosing to omit and include particular pieces of the story to lead the audience to think of the event a certain way. They will stretch the truth if it’s found to be more lucrative for it is still a business. As Thussu wrote about media and its “tendency to move away from a public service news agenda…to a more market-led, tabloid version of news…emphasis on…entertainment.”

Iraqi War in Different Perspectives

“The Chinese Watching the Iraqi War with Shock and Awe” by Zhou He was a good article about the Iraqi war and how it gave reason to China’s growth in international affairs and development in media. Zhou He starts off the article with an unusual statement, “[Chinese] watched the high-tech war through high-tech communication means with shock and awe – as if it were a spectacular game.” To most Americans, at least to myself, war isn’t a video game, but to the Chinese’ virgin eyes, the experience and visual is unbelievable. This statement also shows that the article wasn’t about the U.S. or Iraq it was about China and the other countries were just part of the story.

            He provides a sufficient history, although it’s always more comprehensive with outside material and knowledge, he provides a run down on China’s political history, the nature of the war and the relationship between all the countries. “The Chinese Watching the Iraqi War with Shock and Awe,” has an international demographic because of its neutral stance in the war and “lack of ties” between Iraq and the United States. He does bring up the bitter past between China and the United States under Clinton’s presidency, but it was surpassed because of their billion-dollar relationship of exports and imports, a relationship that China does not want to jeopardize. As for China’s history, their lack of experience in the media world was because of their political prohibitions against media.

            “The Iraqi war was also an ideal conflict for the Chinese media. It involved two sides with whom China had no close alliance.” Their prime reasons for media partake; “Universally accepted practice of professional journalism, the newsworthiness of the event and the competition on a free market.”

            Zhou He’s article doesn’t talk about their relationship with the war and how it’s affected their daily lives but it talks about how the war was an opportunity to develop their countries media tradition. How it was a challenge and accomplishment for the Chinese media, “a rare move for the Hong Kong media that catered to an audience who was usually indifferent to international news.”

            That’s where the biggest difference between China and Brazil’s article “The Self Absorbed Bully: A Brazilian view on the United States at War” by Antonio Pastina on the Iraqi war. For China, they took a neutral stance between the countries and the war aided their international media developments, whereas Brazil took a stance, not necessarily for Saddam Hussein, but certainly against the United States. Antonio Pastina talks about how the war is directly affecting them although they are as stated “a periphery country” that they may be affected in the future since the United States is so “imperializing”.

Pastina, writes this article in a personal way rather than a political view and writes very prejudicially against the U.S. I may be bias myself as an American but Pastina’s view reads clearly in one of the opening sentences. “When a domineering country, the United States, refused to play by the rules of the community…” and again, “In Brazil, similar to most of Latin America, there is a strong anti-United States bias in the media.”. Yet, they continue further into the article and claim, “The Brazilian media did not position itself in favor of Saddam Hussein but questioned the United States’ right to invade and dispose another leader of another nation based on unsubstantiated claims and without United Nation’s support.”

            This article has a very targeted demographic, Brazilians and maybe other Latin countries as well. If the oil issue was brought further to the beginning of the article, which oil is a valid proposition as a driver into this war, the issue may not be so directed one way. They also fail to mention anything on terrorism, the article is less about media, form and international affairs but simply about how the US in “domineering.” They may not be for Saddam Hussein, but they’re certainly not for the U.S. either. A strong article in the eyes of those against the United States, but if it were presented as an international article, it would not stand.

How to Swim

The Philippines is an Asian archipelago that’s composed of a little over 7,000 islands of all shapes and sizes.

My dark-blue, Little Mermaid t-shirt was soaked through with the Pacific’s salt water and my shedding tears. I had just learned to swim.

 Ten minutes earlier I was scooped up in my father’s arms approaching his technique on “teaching one how to swim”. If I knew what I was in for I would’ve been squirming like a worm but as they say, “ignorance is bliss.” I watched my “floaties” disappear into the distance as they were abandoned on the sand. I was in for a surprise of abandonment myself. My father swam me out in the middle of two islands in the Pacific Ocean and left me there. He swam to shore while I idled and cried. When it’s a matter of surviving, somehow instincts kick in and immediately I swam and swam and cried and swam and cried some more. I finally reached the sandy shore and cried even more. I was only five years old.

That day, as scarring as it was, I learned to swim. A year later, of mental recovery, I joined a swim team, swam for U.S.S teams for thirteen years until I got to college and decided to retire. But from one horrific event, swimming helped sculpt my character, it taught me punctuality, ambition, hard work, determination, competition and most of all discipline. The best part of this life defining experience is it’s all on tape. 

Hello Everyone,

My name is Ana. I'm from Westchester, New York and went to school in Manhattan. This is my second year studying architecture at the University of Buffalo. I've never taken an online class so I'll probably need some help with this blogging scenario.

P.S. Is there a particular way to "Follow" someone's blog?

Online ENG 201: Questions

1. Are there differences between the yellow and green highlights?

2. Since I've signed up late for the class will I be penalized for my "late" assignments?