Does the media misrepresent the experiences and interests of everyday people

[beefface 10]

After listening to radio discussion re  (wait for it!) Brexit, where commentators described a nation riven by mutual hostility and antagonism between “remainers” and “brexiteers”, it occurred to me, as someone who’s professionally and socially regularly mixes and interacts with ‘the general public’ that this is simply not  the case. The subject rarely gets raised and if it does, differences are generally expressed through mutually amenable (usually brief) discussion or simply humour. Often the subject is closed down early doors by the “for God’s sake, don’t bring that up” type comment.

Of course, this is not the only issue which (in my experience) the media falsely suggest is “gripping the nation” others are, anything to do with the royal family- marriages, births etc, the latest bbc docudrama and the women's world cup etc. 

What do people think?

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by beefface

[Cyclone 10]

It's hugely important to the nation, and a lot of people follow the progress or lack of it quite closely.

That doesn't mean that we spend all our time discussing it of course.  It's been discussed to death and disagreeing over it seems both kind of pointless and also very difficult to get over.

[Bash Street 10]

MSM like to whip us up into a frenzy pushing their lefty/liberal views on us, they brainwash the people who can't think for themselves.

[Top Cats Hat 10]

The fact that March 29th passed with nothing more than a couple of EDL arrests in Downing Street, a bloke with a Union Jack nearly fell off the roof of Euston Station and someone painted ‘Leave means Leave’ on a road in Essex gives the lie to the claim that the country would be up in arms if we didn’t leave the EU.

 

People are worried but they are not fighting each other in the streets. 

[vwkittie 10]

20 minutes ago, Top Cats Hat said:

The fact that March 29th passed with nothing more than a couple of EDL arrests in Downing Street, a bloke with a Union Jack nearly fell off the roof of Euston Station and someone painted ‘Leave means Leave’ on a road in Essex gives the lie to the claim that the country would be up in arms if we didn’t leave the EU.

 

People are worried but they are not fighting each other in the streets. 

Agreed, I think most people would just be glad the whole mess was over as most, remainers and leavers, are just sick of it all.

[Waldo 96]

Assuming this thread is about the media misrepresenting things, rather than being about us leaving the EU...

 

I am inclined to thing, of course they misrepresent. The media are businesses, and in business to make money, and the more attention they get, the more money they make. Surely that incentives them to somewhat sensationalise stories, in order to garner more attention?

 

Isn't that the dynamic at play?

[beefface 10]

I fully agree, it appears however that part of the media’s tactic is to persuade us that everyone apart from ourselves is captivated by certain current events/issues, while my personal experiences suggests something different.

11 minutes ago, Waldo said:

Assuming this thread is about the media misrepresenting things, rather than being about us leaving the EU...

 

I am inclined to thing, of course they misrepresent. The media are businesses, and in business to make money, and the more attention they get, the more money they make. Surely that incentives them to somewhat sensationalise stories, in order to garner more attention?

 

Isn't that the dynamic at play?

 

[Top Cats Hat 10]

4 minutes ago, Waldo said:

Isn't that the dynamic at play?

Yes. There was a very good interview with Emily Maitlis on R4 the other day where she was talking about being woken up by her editor on the night of the Bataclan attack in Paris and her first question was ‘How many dead?’ She was brutally honest about the points system for how seriously a disaster story is covered.

 

A member of Jeremy Kyle’s production team was ridiculed by a HoC committee hearing this week for suggesting that the Jeremy Kyle show was a ‘conflict resolution show’.

[RiffRaff 10]

Some well-observed and interesting lyrics in Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry"....

[Cyclone 10]

1 hour ago, Waldo said:

Assuming this thread is about the media misrepresenting things, rather than being about us leaving the EU...

 

I am inclined to thing, of course they misrepresent. The media are businesses, and in business to make money, and the more attention they get, the more money they make. Surely that incentives them to somewhat sensationalise stories, in order to garner more attention?

 

Isn't that the dynamic at play?

I'd agree with this.  They want to sell newspapers, or sell advertising impressions, in order to do that they play up certain things and they also deliberately target a specific demographic.

[Top Cats Hat 10]

It is not simply sensationalism which sells paper/attracts clicks.

 

A celeb wearing a new dress also gets good media traction, and that has got to be one of the dullest type of story there is! 😵

[beefface 10]

I was talking (typing?) specifically how the media seem to misrepresent what is really happening, certainly in the world i inhabit. An example would be the imminent arrival of a royal baby “ A nation waits with baited breath” is the kind of stuff the media tend to gush, when on reflection I’ve possibly not encountered one single person who’s mentioned it, or heard anyone talking about it, and when questioning my wife who works in an environment totally populated with women, she neither.  

Perhaps it was because everyone’s breath was “baited”.

Edited June 27, 2019 by beefface