Week 11/5: Ch. 11 Question 1

A form of media usually is biased or promotes only one view, and so if I believe something and a certain television show or newspaper article agrees with what I believe, then that only reinforces my existing worldviews. For instance, I think that gay marriage should be allowed.  I would sometimes watch the Ellen Degeneres show and I remember episodes where she would promote gay marriage or Obama. I would agree with her as well and my belief in gay marriage as an acceptable thing is only reinforced by her belief in it too. The media can also expand our views, however, and not just limit us to our own beliefs. For example, when I read an article online like Time or Yahoo, I always read the comments. These comments from various people with various beliefs can definitely influence my opinions as well. They open my mind to other views or information. The media can also so easily distort information that it can be challenging to choose who or what to believe. Just like the example given on the book, with NBC and FOX promoting a certain candidate. Of course, these networks would both say the good things about the candidates and so, it makes it hard to believe who deserves the position. In the text, it also mentioned people paying the media to advertise or promote them. This is another way the media can challenge our views because how do we really know who to believe then if people might be doing this behind our backs.