How to Detect Media Bias and Propaganda
HUM 111
May 27, 2012
How to Detect Media Bias and Propaganda
News report, our United States President, Obama, is running his campaign based on negative statements against his opponent Romney for the 2012 presidential campaigns. Republican consultant Dave Carney says, “its hyperbole every election to say, ‘This is the most negative election ever’. It is brought up that Romney as well has run hostile ads as well as stating that Obama serving a 2nd term would do serious harm to the economy and individual freedom. (Greenblatt, 2012) Here are some tough questions with answers that may help give an example on how to detect media bias and propaganda.
How might you use the strategies for applying creativity to problems and issues in addressing this? First, let’s define problems and issues, they both refer to situations that challenge our ingenuity; however, an issue also tends to divide people into opposing camps, each sure that it is right and the opposition wrong. Following are important ways to apply creativity. (Ruggiero, 2012, p.100-103)
First, take a novel approach of the above news report. I would rule that both Obama and Romney, with their hostile campaigns, would have to create a positive campaign for each other. Stating may the best man win.
Secondly, devise or modify the process or system. The way campaigns have worked for many years’ leaves me to believe that the process is to feed our country with negatives about their opponents. Instead what should be done is the process should be changed. Telling their country about what their admirations and desires to do for the United States are. Focusing on what they can do for our country, instead of finding faults in their opponents.
Thirdly, invent a new product or service. Creating a testimony on paper that both sides have to sign and agree that no one shall create derogatory remarks or actions against their opponent.
Fourthly, find new uses for existing things. Taking those already derogatory ads and recycle them.
Fifthly, improve things. Nothing in human inventions are perfect, so here is a chance to make things better. Take the new non-derogatory ads; zoom into the body language and the facial expressions of the opponents. Body language and facial expressions show truth within a person.
Finally, invent or redefine a concept. “We tend to regard the many concepts that help us think and deal with reality as fixed and eternal. Yet that is not so. Concepts are invented, just as products and services are.” (Ruggiero, 2012) Take our above ideas and redefine how campaigns should look, how opponents should research, and create their own ideas to help our country improve. People do not want to hear a bunch of non-sense and lies when it concerns us. We want to hear truth, and their plans on making something happen that will benefit the United States of America.
How might you use the strategies for promoting curiosity in addressing this topic? Why do you think these strategies might be effective? When promoting curiosity all that is necessary to do is lose your pride, lose your assumptions, ask questions, research and find answers, and narrow your focus. If your curious if it will work or not, try it. What do we have to lose? Usually, to generate an audience to promote curiosity, it takes some reeling in by becoming a critical consumer. Create realities of what and how thing affect them, our audience. Beginning how things work now and then reeling the audience in with the result of how things will work if this idea is implemented. Be daring, be willing to face unpleasant experiences and learn from them. Be resourceful, act effectively, and conceptualize the approach that solves the problem—even when the problem stymies others and the resources at hand are meager.” (Ruggiero, 2012, p.98) All strategies are effective, whether they are bad or good. We either learn from them, or we make them better because nothing is perfect. Spiking the curiosity of people needs assistance, and to pull life’s into the media to show the difference in now and later.
How might you use the various methods for producing ideas to eliminate the bias from the original article and still present a factual and persuasive case? There are seven (7) key strategies that help stimulate people’s imagination, which in turn will assist in eliminating the bias from the original article and present factual and persuasive ideas. As Ruggiero has writtin in 2012, pages 100-103 the strategies are:
1. Force uncommon responses: Taking our common ideas and creating our own original uncommon ideas, by opening our minds.
2. Use free association: Letting one idea suggest another. Relaxes our control to observe ideas and associations result. Help to retrieve relevant information.
3. Use analogy: Reference to one or more similarities between two otherwise very different things. Do this by asking what the problem is and what does it remind you of.
4. Look for unusual combinations: Combining things not usually combined and finding solutions.
5. Visualize the solution: Imagining the problem solved and visualizing what it would look like then.
6. Construct pro and con arguments: Consists of listing all conceivable arguments that might be advanced on either side of the issue. Simply address your expressions, is? Does? Or Should? Listing as many yes responses you can, together with the reasoning that supports them, and as many no responses as you can, together with the reasoning for them.
7. Construct relevant scenarios: Constructing more than a single scenario and taking care that those constructed cover the broad range of possibilities. Make it more believable and truthful to the audience. (Ruggiero, 2012)
People want factual, truth and a better way of life. It is everyone’s responsibility to assist in this by using our critical thinking skills and critical processes to weed out the deceptions in every story they hear. As far as the Obama and Romney news, it is what it is until we can come up with a better way to grab the attention of people. Let’s face it, people enjoy fighting and dirt on other people, one day though, enough dirt on people will lead to a non-derogatory campaign.
Reference
Ruggiero, V. R. (2012). The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought (10th ed.). Phoenix, AZ: Pearson.
Greenblatt, A. (2012, May 16). Candidates Gird For A 'Scorched Earth' Campaign. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2012/05/15/152775642/candidates-gird-for-scorched-earth-campaign-season