How TV News Can be Deceiving

Paper Summary:

The paper highlights a news topic on Katie Holmes that discussed how fantastic she was, in order to determine the motivations behind this report. The paper then looks at the work of Neil Postman and Steve Powers entitled "How to Watch TV News" that highlights the lack of objectivity in a press release, since the company has a profit motive in mind. The paper shows that to discern the the true meaning and motivation behind the news, one has to consider the reasoning behind the news and the language chosen in its expression.

Outline:
Introduction
Discerning the Meaning of the News
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"According to Neil Postman and Steve Powers in their book How to Watch TV News, a number of principles are presented which the authors advance are "an essential part of the analytical equipment a viewer must bring to any encounter with a news show" (Postman; Powers, p. 98). News must not simply be accepted as stated fact without any consideration, as the news is not entirely innocent of its own agenda. The stories presented on news programs are done so to ensure that the viewers see that which the news network, or its parent company, desires. The motivation behind this is not necessarily to provide the people with the best possible news program available, as these organizations are for-profit corporations, not philanthropic non-profits like WGBH or PBS."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Postman, Neil; Powers, Steve. How to Watch TV News. (1992) Penguin Books.
• Coleman, William E., Jr. "How to Watch TV News." ETC.: A Review of General Semantics 50.n2 (Summer 1993): 235(2). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Worcester Public Library. 22 Oct. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com.ezwx.ez.cwmars.org:58000/itx/start.do?prodId=EAIM>.
• "How to Watch TV News." Publishers Weekly 239.n36 (August 10, 1992): 65(1). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Worcester Public Library. 22 Oct. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com.ezwx.ez.cwmars.org:58000/itx/start.do?prodId=EAIM>.
• "'Eli Stone' Star: 'Working With Katie [Holmes] Was Great'." NBC 7. Retrieved on 21 October 2008, from:

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