Posted on 12/04/2006 8:24:04 AM PST by MNJohnnie
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747605/posts
Communication Professor Examines Media Bias in President's Speeches Virginia Tech News ^ | 11/30/06 | Jean Elliott
Posted on 12/02/2006 5:28:58 PM CST by LS
BLACKSBURG, VA., November 30, 2006 -- Jim A. Kuypers, assistant professor of communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, reveals a disturbing world of media bias in his new book Bush's War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2006).
Convincingly and without resorting to partisan politics, Kuypers strongly illustrates in eight chapters “how the press failed America in its coverage on the War on Terror.” In each comparison, Kuypers “detected massive bias on the part of the press.” In fact, Kuypers calls the mainstream news media an “anti-democratic institution” in the conclusion.
“What has essentially happened since 9/11 has been that Bush has repeated the same themes, and framed those themes the same whenever discussing the War on Terror,” said Kuypers, who specializes in political communication and rhetoric. “Immediately following 9/11, the mainstream news media (represented by CBS, ABC, NBC, USA Today, New York Times, and Washington Post) did echo Bush, but within eight weeks it began to intentionally ignore certain information the president was sharing, and instead reframed the president's themes or intentionally introduced new material to shift the focus.”
This goes beyond reporting alternate points of view. “In short,” Kupyers explained, “if someone were relying only on the mainstream media for information, they would have no idea what the president actually said. It was as if the press were reporting on a different speech.”
The book is essentially a “comparative framing analysis.” Overall, Kuypers examined themes about 9-11 and the War on Terror that the President used, and compared them to the themes that the press used when reporting on what the president said.
“Framing is a process whereby communicators, consciously or unconsciously, act to construct a point of view that encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular manner,” notes Kuypers.
At the heart of each chapter are these questions: What did President Bush talk about, and how did he want us to think about it? What did the mainstream news media talk about following president Bush’s speeches, and how did they want us to think about it?
According to Arkansas State University’s Dennis W. White, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, "This is a time of maximum danger for our country—a time of crisis. The American people historically turn to the President during these times for explanation, for comfort, and for exhortation to purpose. Yet, the President does not speak directly to the people. His speech is mediated; he speaks through the media, members of the media comment on presidential speech, and others comment on the comment. Jim Kuypers is the best in the business at explaining presidential crisis communication and its relationship to the media.”
"This is a skilled and thoughtful work of scholarship, well worth a careful reading,” said Stephen D. Cooper of Marshall University. “Kuypers's book is provocative in the best sense of the word: It can stimulate fresh thinking about presidential rhetoric and press reporting of it—which Kuypers shows can be two very different things.”
Kuypers, of Christiansburg, Va., received his Ph.D from Louisiana State University and both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Florida State. He joined Virginia Tech's Department of Communication last year after having taught political communication for tens years at Dartmouth College
This is a mis representation. That article cited obesity only in South Africa or one or two neigboring countries -- the relatively prosperous nations, not sub Saharan Africa.
Times have been tough for every generation.
This generation has stepped up to fight for their country and they make me proud. VERY PROUD.
You'll need something to keep you awake. The show can keep you going for 16 hours on interest alone, but the final hours per season will take external forces.
you are of course right and down to the jot and tiddle....I was chicken ...hehehehe
I love the Bears, but the Grossman situation may hurt them in the playoffs. He's too inconsistent. He had a terrible game against Vikings. Defense saved his bacon...again!
I've ridden a motorcycle ( 97 vulcan 1500 4 speed)
from Phoenix to Orlando and back TWICE...I can hang.lololol
I really don't know what you mean by that statement, but if you are talking about the old media viewing the past elections as a last hurrah for the old media, you are most likely stone wrong.
Just because the numbers are going down on newspaper subscriptions and the old media nightly newscasts means absolutely nothing with respect to the changes in the people's perspectives on politics.
Just think of it this way............ instead of all those people getting their news from the old morning newspapers or the old nightly newscasts.......... now they are getting their lame "news" needs from Leno, Letterman, Stewart, and the rest of the lefties.
Please understand, (and I could not understand what you meant with that post) the old media is still winning big ......... and they will win the next time around -- because the populace is getting dumber by the day, and our conservative talkshow hosts like Rush and Vannity are a relative turnoff to most decent people. The continual ridicule, name calling, and sanctimony of Rush and Sean doesn't work anymore. They must improve too, but they will not.
Rush will continue to talk about big "bums" on African women, sex with horses, cigars, golf outings with rich folks, and the rape of lambs.
Forget about the old media going away any time soon. Our talkshow hosts, for the most part are not helping. They often are much of the problem. I wish that they weren't.
I say replace Rush Limbaugh with Mark Steyn. The world would be a much better place!
I think that she could be a Thatcher like president
Put down the crack pipe babe.
My Vulcan is in the shop. I think I blew the head gasket.
I say replace BTS with EC. The thread will be a better read.
LOL
I just got back and saw that post. I spit my drink out!
He needs to disappear. I almost broke the tv watching that *sshole yesterday morning.
That new Suzuki 1800 is pretty popular with the weekend riders around here.
Missed the intro to this caller. Is she an Iraqi?
Libs ride bikes? LOL.
PING
I thought you would enjoy this!
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