The news media isn't the only "peddler of fear" though, as politicians often spread their fair share of fear during their campaigns and speeches in order to get votes and money for their causes. This often causes the public perception of fear to increase, while the risk of these events happening to the everyday person has not increased. Politicians can work in tandem with the media so that both benefit off the spread of fear. Politicians generally use the fear tactics of their party in order to frighten people into voting for them in what they perceive as a vote in quelling this fear when in reality this is often not the case. An example of this would be senator Joe McCarthy capitalizing on the red scare in order to gain attention and political power during the 1950s. He was able to enhance people's pre-existing fears of hidden Communism in America in order to get many of his political enemies arrested and to become more famous.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Blog 10: Culture of Fear
One of the important topics we covered in class this week was the culture of fear which is prevalent in our country. This culture of fear is further spread and given strength due to the fact that many groups are able to make a profit off the fear of others. These groups are deemed "peddlers of fear" as they are able to gain attention and thrive off the fear of consumers. An example of these "peddlers of fear" would be the news media, as they are able to gain viewership through spreading stories about violence and making people afraid. They tend to focus on events such as mass shootings and murders, because even though these are rare events, the news media is able to make it seem as though they are more common. They make their viewers afraid of these things happening to them so that they keep watching, which is how these news media get their ratings and profits.
The news media isn't the only "peddler of fear" though, as politicians often spread their fair share of fear during their campaigns and speeches in order to get votes and money for their causes. This often causes the public perception of fear to increase, while the risk of these events happening to the everyday person has not increased. Politicians can work in tandem with the media so that both benefit off the spread of fear. Politicians generally use the fear tactics of their party in order to frighten people into voting for them in what they perceive as a vote in quelling this fear when in reality this is often not the case. An example of this would be senator Joe McCarthy capitalizing on the red scare in order to gain attention and political power during the 1950s. He was able to enhance people's pre-existing fears of hidden Communism in America in order to get many of his political enemies arrested and to become more famous.
This is a link to a famous broadcast done by famous journalist Edward R Morrow on the state that McCarthyism had brought our country to. It's also a statement on the culture of fear in general. The news media and politicians aren't really to blame for how popular this fear has become, as it's always the common people that allow it to gain momentum.
The news media isn't the only "peddler of fear" though, as politicians often spread their fair share of fear during their campaigns and speeches in order to get votes and money for their causes. This often causes the public perception of fear to increase, while the risk of these events happening to the everyday person has not increased. Politicians can work in tandem with the media so that both benefit off the spread of fear. Politicians generally use the fear tactics of their party in order to frighten people into voting for them in what they perceive as a vote in quelling this fear when in reality this is often not the case. An example of this would be senator Joe McCarthy capitalizing on the red scare in order to gain attention and political power during the 1950s. He was able to enhance people's pre-existing fears of hidden Communism in America in order to get many of his political enemies arrested and to become more famous.
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I really like your example and your post overall. I am actually trying to do my homework on the Culture of Fear in America because I find it fascinating. There seem to be so many 'peddlers' that it is hard to determine what is honest and what is intentionally exaggerated to cause additional fear. I do think that there are things that we should be 'scared of' in this society, but most of these are not brought to our attention, such as poverty, exploitation, etc.
ReplyDeleteI thought that your ideas on the media being the 'peddlers of fear' were spot on and very good. It's unfortunate how much the media blows the news they are covering out of proportion, just to keep the public intrigued.
ReplyDeleteThis post is similar in a few ways to the one that I did last week about the media. It is disgusting how much they show the audience what they want to see or hear just to keep their attention even if it isn't the entire truth. I think that should be illegal! In the big picture it is like a team of people lying to the word about someone else's business...strange. It is unfortunate how terrible the media has gotten and the name they have made for themselves!
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