Suggestion in Media. Is What You See What You Get? Do You Really Want It? Chapter 8 Introduction to Critical Reasoning Professor Doug Olena

Transcription

1 Suggestion in Media Is What You See What You Get? Do You Really Want It? Chapter 8 Introduction to Critical Reasoning Professor Doug Olena

2 The hand that rules the press, the radio, the screen and the far-spread magazine, rules the country. Learned Hand

3 Suggestion The print and elecronic media use two types of persuasive techniques that every critical thinker should understand. These techniques are called suggestion and subliminal persuasion.

4 Suggestion in Daily Life 255 Suggestion means presenting ideas or images in such a way as to reveal certain aspects or qualities and to conceal others. We use the power of suggestion to create impressions in our personal lives, impressions that help us to look or seem better in some way than we actually are.

5 Suggestion in Daily Life 256 Televised Suggestion: The media does set the agenda about what will and what will not get discussed.

6 Suggestion in Daily Life 256 Televised Suggestion: 1. The selection of issues 2. The use of time 3. The selection of guest and panel members 4. What is included or excluded on a set 5. The nonverbal element of clothing 6. The use of language 7. The use of camera angles and cuts 8. Camera distance and framing

7 Suggestion in Daily Life The selection of issues Time pressure limits what can be covered in any broadcast. Both the reporters and editors have the power to decide what is and what is not worthy of coverage.

8 Suggestion in Daily Life The selection of issues More sensational stories or sensational elements of stories are covered while less sensational stories or elements are left out. The primary purpose of TV news is to entertain, not to inform.

9 Suggestion in Daily Life The time factor Time placement of a story is important. A story given early coverage will seem very important to an audience. When one guest is given more time than another to make his or her points, that guest has a greater chance of influencing the audience.

10 Suggestion in Daily Life The time factor Set the priorities of a.-j. on 259 if the priorities are: 1. International 2. local 3. relevance to the largest number of people

11 Suggestion in Daily Life The selection of guests or panel members Does the professional on the panel only represent one side of the controversy, and therefore lend credibility to only that side?

12 Suggestion in Daily Life The selection of guests or panel members Don t judge an issue by an abrasive spokesperson who may or may not represent the norm of persons who support his or her side.

13 Suggestion in Daily Life The selection of guests or panel members A host may direct easy positive questions to one guest and hard, difficult to answer questions to another.

14 Suggestion in Daily Life 260 What is included on or excluded from a set? A set in a science lab may lend credibility to a story about a new research finding.

15 Suggestion in Daily Life 261 The non-verbal element of clothing Clothing style is an essential element of political appearance as well as advertising.

16 Suggestion in Daily Life 262 The use of language A terrorist group takes credit for the bombing. A terrorist group takes responsibility for the bombing.

17 Suggestion in Daily Life 262 Camera angles and cuts Shooting a person from below lends authority to a figure, while shooting a person from above tends to make the person seem insignificant or even dishonest.

18 Suggestion in Daily Life 263 Camera distance and framing Close-ups control our emotions by adding an element of intimacy. We feel closer to a person and identify more readily with the person s viewpoint when we can see him or her as, literally, close to us. We may believe the speaker is telling the truth because he appears to be looking us in the eye.

19 Suggestion in Daily Life 264 Camera distance and framing The deliberate or unconscious use of camera shots to influence audiences can make a critical difference. One loud demonstrator shown close up can create a distorted image if there are hundreds of other people protesting quietly.

20 Suggestion in Print Media 264 The broadcast media, television and radio, are subject to what is called the fairness doctrine, which means that if broadcasters allow air time for one side of an issue, they must allow time for other points of view as well.

21 Suggestion in Print Media 265 The print media, however, are not under the same governmental pressure to be fair. Newspapers have an obligation to speak for the entire community and to be sensitive to every segment of it.

22 Suggestion in Print Media 265 The use of headlines. Headlines in respectable newspapers and magazines are important because many readers are scanners. 266 Headlines are often read as summary statements about events or discoveries.

23 Suggestion in Print Media 266 Consider also the titles editors give to letters written by readers of a newspaper or magazine. Sometimes these titles are representative of the position of the person who wrote the article, but sometimes they are used to distort or ridicule the position of the writer. In this way, an editorial page may appear balanced, but in reality it is not.

24 Suggestion in Print Media 267 Whereas network news and interview programs have a shortage of time, newspapers and newsmagazines have limited space. The editor decides which stories are important enough to cover and on what page.

25 Suggestion in Print Media 267 It is important for critical thinkers to realize that reporting is not always objective and fair and that the editorial pages are set aside to reflect the opinions of readers and essayists.

26 Suggestion in Print Media 269 Photo Composition Outright lies using photographs are unethical. But more subtle forms of manipulation can occur through photocomposition. Seviers

27 Power of Media to Shape 269 Writers and producers of news and feature stories have enormous power to shape the information that is broadcast or published. Those who study the effects of media often debate the extent to which programs create, rather than reflect, reality for readers and viewers.

28 Power of Media to Shape 269 Are reporters just giving us a window to the world or are they creating the scenes we are shown? Are they presenting just the facts, or are they really shaping the facts so that news stories and features become a subtle form of argumentation?

29 Power of Media to Shape 269 Media manufacture meaning. Journalists select what will be covered and determine how it will be presented, including what elements will be included or left out, what elements will be emphasized or left in the shadows, what language will be used.

30 Power of Media to Shape Lorene is portrayed unfairly.

31 Subliminal Persuasion 273 The old saying, Let the buyer beware means that when we are subjected to various pitches by advertisers and politicians, we should have the power to say no to their claims and to resist being persuaded against out will.

32 Subliminal Persuasion 273 However, what if we are being persuaded to think and act against our will by messages geared to affect us, in ways our conscious minds cannot detect? This happens when we are exposed to subliminal persuasion.

33 Subliminal Persuasion 273 Two types of Subliminal Persuasion: Persuasive techniques that can be detected with training. Information that cannot be registered by the conscious mind.

34 Subliminal Persuasion 274 Detectable Persuasion Attention getting devices: loud music and words, camera cuts and subtle combinations of colors and formats 15 to 30 second spots, fast switches.

35 Subliminal Persuasion 274 The Gestalt Principle Our minds strive toward congruence and completion of information. We have an innate need to complete phrases when we listen. For God so loved...

36 Subliminal Persuasion 274 The Gestalt Principle Questions or Slogans that the consumer is taught to answer. 275 Images that don t make sense: We are motivated by this drive and so we take action when things don t make sense.

37 What s wrong with this Picture?

38 Subliminal Persuasion 276 Persuasion we cannot detect: Brand name recognition is a key to selling a product. Products will be remembered if the advertisement holds the attention of the viewer in as many ways as possible.