How the Media Affects Policy Making Through Their Reporting

October 30, 2011

How the Media Affects Policy Making Through Their Reporting
The debate over how fairly and unbiased the media presents their reporting on issues to the public is an ongoing one. There are those who say the form of the media in which it is presented may have a lot to do with its influence on public opinion. Although, there are others who believe all forms of media hold the same amount of influence. Over the past week, media in the form of newspaper and television has been compared to each other in its reporting on various public policies. The New York Times and ABC’s World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer were looked at comparatively in their handling of stories regarding public policies for the time period specified. The key notes compared are: equal focus on policies within the media form; presence of objectivity or bias within the content; and how in depth the storyline was reported. The lack or overabundance of any of these key notes could have a significant impact on the public view of the same subject.
Equal Focus on Public Policy
The amount of press given to stories of public policies from The New York Times was much more significant in frequency as compared to the stories focused on by Diane Sawyer from ABC’s World News Tonight. In the past week, The New York Times discussed varied stories ranging from the potential impact the United States’ reaction to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) plans in admitting Palestine as a member could have on them if antiquated policies do not change, (Erlanger, 2011, p. A6) as well as the need for new policies to be written to safeguard New York’s status in globalization (McGeehan, 2011, p. A24). Topics such as this dominated the newspaper throughout the week. In contrast, Diane Sawyer’s repertoire of reporting was broken down to nightly segments which focused on more “feel good” stories with a little political policy talk included to make the segment seem more rounded and informative. ABC’s World News Tonight focused on topics such as GOP candidate’s wives, and saving the Lakota. Stories which were focused on public policy could vary from the proposed bank card fees to the Alabama Immigration Law (ABC News, 2011). In terms of equal focus on public policy, the newspaper showed more focus on the subject.
Presence of Objectivity or Bias
When reading through stories over the week regarding public policies, The New York Times does its best to present to the public informative articles minus any leading opinions. The articles usually follow the format of presenting the issue, the people or organizations involved, background on the issue, and the effects the issue could have if it is not resolved correctly. There were occasions where a proposed solution was offered, but it was not generated by the newspaper. Instead, it was usually the viewpoint of one or more of the key players.
ABC’s World News Tonight was more prevalent in leading the public toward a particular way of thinking and feeling. Their presentations were based on more of an emotional response from the public than a cerebral one. Articles were accompanied by videos, photos and interviews which are used in sensational journalism. These tools can be very persuasive, and Diane Sawyer uses them frequently to sway her viewers to her way and the networks way of thinking about both humanistic stories and political public policy.
In-Depth Reporting
The New York Times articles were very informative. Background information on the topic was included in many articles. There were also separate articles which gave the reader a chance to delve deeper and understand more of the topic so the article would be more meaningful and easily understood. The presence of information on where even more information could be gained on the subject was often offered. For example, book titles and web addresses often accompanied an article. Giving a reader an opportunity to gain as much knowledge of a subject is more evidence the newspaper wants the reader to be able to have the knowledge to form their own opinion.
Diane Sawyer’s political policy stories did not contain a lot of information. The stories were limited by time to fit the media, so in-depth information was lacking. Unless the story was the focal point of the segment, more in-depth reporting was saved for the other subject matter. Although newspapers are limited to their space constraints, the written word can be more focused than the visual medium.
This comparison only involved two of the many forms the media has. Should any other study to be done comparing others to each other or to the ones in this paper the results would most assuredly vary. Depending on the focus of the medium itself, there may be another form of media that may be more in-depth, or biased or focused on public policy than this particular newspaper. Invariably, it is up to the reader, or viewer or listener as to what one form or combination of media supplies the most information for them and either shares the same views or allows the observer to follow their own mind.

References
ABC NEWS, (2011). Abc nightly news with diane sawyer. Retrieved October 30, 2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/watch/world-news-with-diane-sawyer/SH5585921
Erlanger, S. (2011, October 25). Palestinian bid for full UNESCO membership imperils american financing. The New York Times. p. A6
McGeehan, P. (2011, October 26). Report details globalization effects in new York. The New York Times. p.A24