Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street

The issue:

Protestors are occupying Wall Street in protest of the class wars occurring in America…mainly that one percent of the American population holds the wealth in this country.  Many argue that they are unsure of what the protesters are protesting, but others believe that although a single voice or message is not heard, the protesters are voicing their opinion that they are unhappy with the large corporations and government officials who support these corporations.  They are looking for a restructuring of government regulations and ensuring the corporations do not take advantage of the little guy. 

Rachel Maddow Show

Talking Points:  Rachael Maddow argues that compared to 1945, the distributions between classes was not as evident, but that changed in the 1980’s.  Maddow notes that Americans do not resent the rich, they resent the fact that the system has stopped working for them and that the middle class is disappearing.   

The O’Reilly Factor

Talking points:  Bill O’Reilly argues that the protestors are loons, and left-wing communists and anarchists.   He argues that the people protesting have been heard saying, “We didn’t have anywhere else to go”.  O’Reilly believes the protests are funded by, by George Soros, a notable money-backer of liberalism.  O’Reilly states that there is no coherent political ideology, or clear message.  The Factor also notes the irony of the information sharing,  of the issue, through inventions of capitalism such as the iphone, smart phones, etc.   The last point O’Reilly notes is that the protestors are un-American and looking to tear the country down. 

Difference of Opinion

The difference of the two opinions seems to fit in with the stereotype of MSNBC (host of the Rachel Maddow Show) and Fox News (host of the O’Reilly Factor).  MSNBC is typically noted as more accepting of liberal points of views, while Fox news tend to favor conservative views.  MSNBC is giving credibility to the Occupy Wall Street Protestors, while Fox News appears to belittle the protest and paint the participants as un-American.

Why  Does this Matter?

The coverage of the news stories matters because most persons obtain their information from one source.  Whether the source is MSNBC or Fox News, or some other network, if the stories are not presented in a fair and balanced manner and the authors are allowed to show bias, the persons watching the shows will be influenced to follow whatever the media presents.  If the information is not based in fact it can have detrimental effects on the political process of America, because if persons believe government is corrupt, when they are not (or vice versa), bad things can happen and public opinion can be swayed into following un-truths. 

The coverage of the different opinions on different networks also matters because of the network ratings, wars.  The more viewers a network has, the money they make in advertising.  The article:  Chasing Fox by Gabriel Sherman provides insight into these wars.  Sherman, (2010) notes that Jonthan Klein of CNN faced a possibly insoluble cable-news riddle: How do you build the kind of excitement that draws in viewers without being partisan?  CNN was already forced to defend CNN’s rating issues.  The pressure on Klein ratcheted up. In April, Klein began talks with British talk-show personality Piers Morgan. In June, he announced that he would hire the famously black-socked and disgraced former governor Eliot Spitzer. Klein faced stiff internal resistance to hiring Spitzer. When one CNN executive expressed to Klein the concern that viewers risked being turned off by Spitzer’s hooker scandal, Klein had snapped, “I don’t give a fuck.”  Based on this decision, Mr. Klein was fired.  This article provides evidence that the different networks are constantly in battle to bring the most interesting stories forward and will sometimes do so at any cost.  This is a dangerous concept because many Americans obtain their information and form their opinions based on one network.  For example most Americans choose either MSNBC or Fox News and if misinformation is presented, these people are forming their opinions on misinformation.  It is wise to choose ones information from a plethora of sources to ensure balance and truth seeking in issues…the truth is generally in the middle.