The quote from Jeff Cohen that opens Chater 11 is very reflective of all the information within the chapter. It is sad to think about the decline of journalism, but it is true that information is now owned and selectively reported, not exposed, to the public. I like that the authors begin this section by retelling the mythology of muckraking journalism and what it meant to be a serious reporter. Many people believed journalists were some sort of hero, but in reality they were just another portion of underpaid, overworked people.
There was always a facade about the profession, but now the facade goes deeper and is even harmful. Journalists have essentially morphed into PR flacks. All of the media is controlled and owned by a handful of huge corporations, since the media after all is a "huge, profitable business." (181) This is upsetting, considering the humble and hopeful beginnings of journalism. The authors even cover a case wherein DuPont trained journalists on how to create articles from PR-approved headlines. Now they are working together, and anyone who attempts to uphold the romantic vision of journalism is crushed by the corporate super-powers.
Corporations always seem to be the root of various problems and corruption occuring in the business world today. Giving themselves billions of dollars worth of bonuses or completely rewriting history to shape it in favor of a certain product or person. It is insulting to democracy what we have allowed happen. Journalists are no longer free thinking, free speaking members of society. They are the robotic "stenographers for power."
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
"Governments that murder and jail their critics don't particularly need to worry about maintaining an attractive image among their own people."
Chapter 10 of Toxic Sludge really opened my eyes wider than anything I have read about propaganda yet. It brought to my attention that countries and governments are using propaganda to control and manipulate not only their own citizens but the international community as well. I was astounded by how detailed the authors' information was regarding the plan for the PR campagin of Colombia: from villian to victim, victim to hero, hero into leader.
It all seems so obvious and yet goes uncovered, hovering just above our level of consciousness. Not only were some remarks made in the campaign downright false and unfounded, the entire approach of the Sawyer/Miller campaign for the Colombian government was coniving and deceptive--even within the world of propagandists. They thought critically to reverse focus and redirect the finger of blame from Colombia's role as provider to the US's role of consumer/demand. They developed advertisements that claimed Escobar's prison was "like many in the US- ringed by barbed wire and electric fences." (146) This is a prime example of a concept I learned from unSpun: half-truths. The public needs to learn how to read statements like that very carefully, with a fine-tooth comb. Sure, his prison may have been guarded (by Escobar-selected officials) and surrounded by electric fences, but this statement gave no indication or mention of his actual living quarters which were much unlike prisons in the US, equipped with a jacuzzi, guest rooms, and a soccer field.
This chapter basically frightened me and challenged my perception of humanity in some ways. How can a PR person feel happy with what he/she is doing when he/she is knowingly and actively polluting information and the minds of the general public? The book identifies that some PR firms feel that they are "ethically obligated, like attorneys, to accept virtually any client who can afford to pay." (151) I see nothing ethical in helping mask corrupt governments involved in drug cartels or genocide (Guatemala). It's just wrong and unfair to use money and other resources that average people don't have to continue to pile this bullshit, misinformation on top of revealing and important truths.
It all seems so obvious and yet goes uncovered, hovering just above our level of consciousness. Not only were some remarks made in the campaign downright false and unfounded, the entire approach of the Sawyer/Miller campaign for the Colombian government was coniving and deceptive--even within the world of propagandists. They thought critically to reverse focus and redirect the finger of blame from Colombia's role as provider to the US's role of consumer/demand. They developed advertisements that claimed Escobar's prison was "like many in the US- ringed by barbed wire and electric fences." (146) This is a prime example of a concept I learned from unSpun: half-truths. The public needs to learn how to read statements like that very carefully, with a fine-tooth comb. Sure, his prison may have been guarded (by Escobar-selected officials) and surrounded by electric fences, but this statement gave no indication or mention of his actual living quarters which were much unlike prisons in the US, equipped with a jacuzzi, guest rooms, and a soccer field.
This chapter basically frightened me and challenged my perception of humanity in some ways. How can a PR person feel happy with what he/she is doing when he/she is knowingly and actively polluting information and the minds of the general public? The book identifies that some PR firms feel that they are "ethically obligated, like attorneys, to accept virtually any client who can afford to pay." (151) I see nothing ethical in helping mask corrupt governments involved in drug cartels or genocide (Guatemala). It's just wrong and unfair to use money and other resources that average people don't have to continue to pile this bullshit, misinformation on top of revealing and important truths.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
unSpun: Conclusion
I just finished reading UnSpun which concludes with a final case study on the Hoodia weight-loss supplement. The propaganda involved with the product is exposed in the case. Each argument, trick, warning sign, rule, and lesson that was discussed throughout the book was restated or addressed in this final chapter. The actual information regarding the Hoodia ad campaign was interesting, but I had heard about it before. What peaked my interest instead was the humble way the authors concluded the book. They boiled their advice down to two words: respect facts. They understand the challenges of being one consumer, one voter in a world of disinformation. They recognize how many of the concepts they have displayed can be overwhelming. But the rules and lessons they provided to the reader throughout their book resound in the final paragraphs and gave me confidence. They advise readers to start with little things, like "what cold remedy to buy." I know that in at least that small way this book has changed my perception, and I hope that I can conquer greater fact-checking as my financial and consumer needs and desires grow. I feel better knowing I am armed with all of the tips provided by UnSpun and I am determined to avoid spin.
Toxic Sludge is Good For You has also been very eye-opening for me. Chapter 9 discusses the environment, an issue that is very important to me. It saddened me to realize some truths about environmental organizations, like that they are "first and foremost business ventures" and that some organizations exist simply to displace the "misconception" of ecological crises. That is why not everything is being done to help the environment, because many people are still arguing no issue exists. I cannot even explain how much that enfuriates me. The environment is not something anyone should take a stance on. The problems we face are not myths and we need to rally together to cause some relief. Anti-environmental PR companies need to be outlawed!
Toxic Sludge is Good For You has also been very eye-opening for me. Chapter 9 discusses the environment, an issue that is very important to me. It saddened me to realize some truths about environmental organizations, like that they are "first and foremost business ventures" and that some organizations exist simply to displace the "misconception" of ecological crises. That is why not everything is being done to help the environment, because many people are still arguing no issue exists. I cannot even explain how much that enfuriates me. The environment is not something anyone should take a stance on. The problems we face are not myths and we need to rally together to cause some relief. Anti-environmental PR companies need to be outlawed!
Throughout unSpun the authors have been reiterating the importance of questioning, track-backing, and cross-checking in order to be a smart consumer. They have provided countless examples and case studies that expose the tricks of propaganda. In Chapter 8 they continue their advice, telling readers "How to be Sure."
Again, we are dealing with the same tricks like Dangling Comparatives and the Superlative Swindle, as well as psychological issues like Cognitive Dissonance. The authors point out that when major news sources, like the Yale Law Journal, make errors with quotes, it crumbles the readers' confidence and creates the notion that there must be other lies and errors misleading the general public in every-day plain text. Since we have been studying propaganda, we know this to be true. Factual, respectable sources should be reliable but aren't always. We need to be armed with guidelines for fact-checking, which is exactly what unSpun provides.
The rule that I found to be most helpful and interesting was the final rule: Be Skeptical, but Not Cynical. I like how the authors define cynicism as "a form of gullibility." Cynics don't keep their minds open, but rather immediately reject facts without support, just like naive people accept facts without evidence. Cynical arguments usually portray an "us vs. them" or "me vs. they" mentality, which is clearly not an open, honest approach. This final rule has encouraged me to be more aware of how I analyze information and how my own emotions/hang ups can influence the way I receive info.
Again, we are dealing with the same tricks like Dangling Comparatives and the Superlative Swindle, as well as psychological issues like Cognitive Dissonance. The authors point out that when major news sources, like the Yale Law Journal, make errors with quotes, it crumbles the readers' confidence and creates the notion that there must be other lies and errors misleading the general public in every-day plain text. Since we have been studying propaganda, we know this to be true. Factual, respectable sources should be reliable but aren't always. We need to be armed with guidelines for fact-checking, which is exactly what unSpun provides.
The rule that I found to be most helpful and interesting was the final rule: Be Skeptical, but Not Cynical. I like how the authors define cynicism as "a form of gullibility." Cynics don't keep their minds open, but rather immediately reject facts without support, just like naive people accept facts without evidence. Cynical arguments usually portray an "us vs. them" or "me vs. they" mentality, which is clearly not an open, honest approach. This final rule has encouraged me to be more aware of how I analyze information and how my own emotions/hang ups can influence the way I receive info.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
It is human nature to desire instant satisfaction or gratification. We want what we want when we want it and don't care what it takes to get us there. Ergo, we tend to draw conclusions from little evidence and have no interest in considering the facts or causes behind such conclusions. Chapter 6 of UnSpun is all about this behavior and how our disregard for process or evidence can trap us into propaganda. Not only are the tricks of advertisers a concern, but our own sheer laziness puts us at risk of being spun.
The authors encourage us to learn that our own personal experience "isn't necessarily very good evidence"(106) since it really only offers one point of view. (A point of view or observation which can also be tainted when filtering it through the thoughts of other people or in retelling, such as exaggeration.) It would be ignorant to believe that one scenario automatically makes something a fact, but many people actually think that anecdotes serve as appropriate data or evidence! Case in point: those who believe crows are using cars as nutcrackers. Sure, it would be fun to believe that these birds are so savvy, but the truth is that the observations of Maple and Grobecker were momentary and the product of chance. They "caught" the crows throwing nuts at cars but never thought to observe crows throwing nuts on other hard surfaces. Where's the fun in that?
Jackson and Jamieson also bring up another strong point: that bogus studies generate in politics all the time. The general public is just too lazy to look for support for the studies. We'd rather believe that what we are being told is true. I know that I personally rationalize that politicians wouldn't be allowed to state a statistic if it weren't true...and that's exactly what they hope the public believes. In actuality, as the authors point out with their abortion example, politicians can state downright incorrect stats and pass them off as facts. I cannot believe that Howard Dean reported that abortions went up 25% since Bush was elected. (116) Doesn't he check his facts? Why are they making me weed out the lies?! I'm too lazy for this!
Alas, I have to learn to become more critical of the media, for reasons like these alone. It is in my best interest to quit being lazy and start asking questions like the authors suggest: "Are these facts really connected?" and "What's the evidence?" (125.)
The authors encourage us to learn that our own personal experience "isn't necessarily very good evidence"(106) since it really only offers one point of view. (A point of view or observation which can also be tainted when filtering it through the thoughts of other people or in retelling, such as exaggeration.) It would be ignorant to believe that one scenario automatically makes something a fact, but many people actually think that anecdotes serve as appropriate data or evidence! Case in point: those who believe crows are using cars as nutcrackers. Sure, it would be fun to believe that these birds are so savvy, but the truth is that the observations of Maple and Grobecker were momentary and the product of chance. They "caught" the crows throwing nuts at cars but never thought to observe crows throwing nuts on other hard surfaces. Where's the fun in that?
Jackson and Jamieson also bring up another strong point: that bogus studies generate in politics all the time. The general public is just too lazy to look for support for the studies. We'd rather believe that what we are being told is true. I know that I personally rationalize that politicians wouldn't be allowed to state a statistic if it weren't true...and that's exactly what they hope the public believes. In actuality, as the authors point out with their abortion example, politicians can state downright incorrect stats and pass them off as facts. I cannot believe that Howard Dean reported that abortions went up 25% since Bush was elected. (116) Doesn't he check his facts? Why are they making me weed out the lies?! I'm too lazy for this!
Alas, I have to learn to become more critical of the media, for reasons like these alone. It is in my best interest to quit being lazy and start asking questions like the authors suggest: "Are these facts really connected?" and "What's the evidence?" (125.)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Fact or Fiction?
Knowing the truth is not only morally important, but essential to surviving and thriving in our capitalist society. In Chapter 5 of UnSpun, Jackson and Jamieson display how bad information is prevelant and costly to an unknowing consumer. The price for getting facts wrong is high in all respects of life: medically, economically, personally, etc. The authors expose the "price-equals-quality" fallacy that befalls many products like food and alcohol as well as tuition to universities. They also identify the sad, sick trap of "selling false hope." In addition to playing off emotions and fears, marketers will also play to people's false hopes. They provide desperate people with impossible promises, knowing that their desparation will blind these people from being logical and seeing the truth.
The most interesting section of this chapter concerns a misconception about women's health. Because of the exposure that breat cancer gets, many people believe it is the number one killer of women, but the author's tell us "women are nine times more likely to die of heart disease and more than twice as likely to die from stroke" as they are from breast cancer. (89) This shocks me. I do understand it is important to bring attention to issues like breast cancer, but not at the cost of denying or ignoring the bigger problem.
It's all about perspective, and it all links back to the primary "tricks" outlined in Chapter 2. Since the media provides publicity to breast cancer or showcases ignorant views about teenage sexual activity and drinking, they technically are not telling the truth but rather a half-truth. This leads to a "gap between perception and facts" called pluralistic ignorance. It frightens me to think about all of the facts I am truly ignorant about. How much info was "miscontrued" in my history textbook? It is very eye-opening to consider the power that the press has and the way history and all of ther facts may be manipulated.
The most interesting section of this chapter concerns a misconception about women's health. Because of the exposure that breat cancer gets, many people believe it is the number one killer of women, but the author's tell us "women are nine times more likely to die of heart disease and more than twice as likely to die from stroke" as they are from breast cancer. (89) This shocks me. I do understand it is important to bring attention to issues like breast cancer, but not at the cost of denying or ignoring the bigger problem.
It's all about perspective, and it all links back to the primary "tricks" outlined in Chapter 2. Since the media provides publicity to breast cancer or showcases ignorant views about teenage sexual activity and drinking, they technically are not telling the truth but rather a half-truth. This leads to a "gap between perception and facts" called pluralistic ignorance. It frightens me to think about all of the facts I am truly ignorant about. How much info was "miscontrued" in my history textbook? It is very eye-opening to consider the power that the press has and the way history and all of ther facts may be manipulated.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
UnSpun: UFO Cults and Us
I really enjoyed this fourth chapter because it focused more on the irrational mental actions of the public rather than identifying what the media is doing wrong. It has always puzzled and astonished me how so many people get caught up in cults or believe in crop circles, UFO's, evil spirits, or even scientology.... Moreover, it is amazing to me how unassuming people simply believe unknown leaders who have no credibility whatsoever, like the members on truthout.com.
What surprised me in this chapter were the examples of opinions that clearly did not believe what the media presents. To an extent, that is good. You shouldn't believe everything you read or hear. But instead, these people are taking their ideas to the other extreme and acting so mindlessly that they become their own deception.
I was also interested by the authors' notion of "wishful thinking." I admit, I do think I am a better than average driver, or more likely than I actually am to live past eighty. It was interesting to read how, psychologically, we are unrealistic, think in stereotypes, and crave certainty.
All in all, this chapter taught me to look out not only for the trickery within the media, but the trickery that naturally exists within my own mind.
What surprised me in this chapter were the examples of opinions that clearly did not believe what the media presents. To an extent, that is good. You shouldn't believe everything you read or hear. But instead, these people are taking their ideas to the other extreme and acting so mindlessly that they become their own deception.
I was also interested by the authors' notion of "wishful thinking." I admit, I do think I am a better than average driver, or more likely than I actually am to live past eighty. It was interesting to read how, psychologically, we are unrealistic, think in stereotypes, and crave certainty.
All in all, this chapter taught me to look out not only for the trickery within the media, but the trickery that naturally exists within my own mind.
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