I pulled up the Fox news website last night and under "Breaking News" read, "OBAMA WANTS TO CONTROL THE WEB." There are several points that I would like to touch on here so I guess I will start by asking, is this really breaking news? This is a textbook example of the dramatization bias that we have talked about in class over and over. The fact that this made the breaking news page on Fox really exposes how bias the network is. We all realize that Fox is the most conservative network but I see this as way over the top and I am not even a democrat. This "breaking news" story reminds me of something that may be a topic of discussion on Hannity but for it to be on the front of the Fox home page blows me away. If you have read any of my previous blogs you know that I am not a big fan of the two party system and this headline is a prime example of why that is. It was clear to me before I even read this article that its purpose was not to inform me of the current administrations ideas for monitoring the web but to infuse the "right" and turn them further against their president.
The article it self is even more troubling to me than the title. The main issue in the article is that a White House staffer named Susan Crawford wants to turn the internet into a utility like water and electricity. The article argues that this would give the government full control to monitor the internet and place regulations on it. The article then talks about a group called Free Press which is an avid supporter of internet regulation. The leader of the group is an alleged Marxist who claims that internet regulation is the beginning of a socialist revolution.
What is truly amazing to me is how much this article angers me when I am against government control of internet. I really wish that this article did not seem so bias so I would feel better about reading it. It just seems that the whole purpose of the article isn't to inform but is to scare. It really bothers me that our most watched news channel is willing to put something this obviously bias on their front page. The title is "Obama Wants to Control The Web" and Obama is only actually mentioned in the article two times. For all we know all that could have happened was a White House staff member made the wrong comment and Obama has nothing to do with this. I am really disappointed in Fox news.
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persoally, i think this is a perfect example of the pointless soft news we get in the form of slander between the liberal and conservative media. i really liked your point about the fact that obama was only mentioned twice in the article which DOES show that a very real possibility that the entire article is a smear of obama beginning with the title... very interesting...
ReplyDeleteI think with everything that happened recently in Iran where the government does control the internet, this could be breaking news. Although I think it may have been dramatized, it actually is something that Obama wanted to pursue. The bias in the article probably did not mention that Obama wanted to control it only in emergency situations. Regardless, the thought of our government controlling the internet in ANY situation is scary. Who determines what is an emergency? I understand your points on how this could be seen as not breaking news but at the same time, this could be for many people news they want and need to hear. Great post!
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