dmariel, Bourdieu

Throughout my CMC studies, I have become so fascinated by big news corporations--CCN, NBC, Fox News, etc. Ever since I have taken a critical approach to these channels I have realized what Bourdieu refers to as their way of “telling us what we ‘should think’ about”. News can and often does depoliticize and reduce “what goes on in the world to the level of anecdote or scandal..to be transformed into illustrations of ‘social problems’”. The news has insurmountable power and creates effect which are “completely original”. When reading this article, I was reminded of the day when Dr. Casey said recession + recession + recession = recession. I believe that the news is a huge factor in the reason that our economy is the way that it is right now. People believe that what they hear on the news is completely true and unbiased, when really there is no obligation for the news to tell the truth or even to filter the information for viewers. Rather than filter, they simply convey what is entertaining and enticing. American culture, for the most part, is entertained by tragic stories, scary weather reports, etc. The news continues to feed the same stories over and over again to the public, suiting everyone “because it confirms what they already know and above all, leaves their mental structures in tact”.
Bourdieu proposes an extremely important question when he debates whether or not newspapers should report news like we see on TV or should they emphasize how they are different? There is an economic dilemma here, especially because today the newspaper is becoming very outdated. People are becoming more and more lazy, sitting back and getting their news from the TV. If newspapers do not cater to the dramatic quenching lives of Americans they may go out of business. But on the other hand, where will practical news stories be found if not in the newspaper? Although TV has the potential to reach such a wide number of viewers easily, it hasn’t done it in the most proper or culturally sound way. The newspaper, on the other hand, has remained practical for the most part. I hope that, for the good of the American people, the newspaper will continue to differentiate and give us real news.