What we see in the media has a great influence on our worldviews and our ways of thinking. My experiences with the media have generally expanded my views because I am open to new ideas, and new perspectives. For example, the recent uprisings of many suppressed peoples have taught me so much more about other countries and corrupt governments around the world. I would not have been exposed to this material, outside of a classroom, had it not been for the media buzz surrounding the issues. My grandfather, a very right-winged republican, only listens and watches FOX News. The rest of the family knows that this is a biased channel and find him crazy; yet he doesn’t see anything wrong with only listening to and believing one source. This is why it is important to switch between channels, media sources, and determine who is publishing or sponsoring these outlets so that we are not simply watching programs that contribute to “confirmation bias and narrow-mindedness” (Boss, pg. 358).
I agree, I think it’s important to understand both sides of an issue, and this can be very difficult when certain media outlets heavily sensor their broadcast’s to promote certain worldviews. Certain programs go so far in using very emotionally charged words, accusing people of wanting harm, and vilifying political figures that it often leaves the stage of news and becomes purely ideological persuasion. Just two examples of this are that both our current president has been called Hitler on Fox, and our previous president was called Hitler on MSNBC. So yes I agree with your point that we should tune into different news stations to get different points of view and hear the whole story.
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