Lara Hammoud

Valerie Fong
English 1T
25 April 2016
Roles of Media
The media plays a significant role in our society now. It is everywhere and all around us,
from movies and shows we watch, to music we hear, to books and magazines we read and even
signs on the street. The media is seen as either an entertainment or a source of education. Some
say that the purpose of the media is to inform and bring awareness to global and local news.
Others say that it exposes the corruption of the world. And some believe that the purpose of the
media is to watch the government and discover the truth. However, with all these roles the media
plays, there are some problems that come with it.
The media is an important factor in through which people learn about the changes
happening around them. It plays the role of informing people of changes, events and issues

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:27 PM

Comment [1]: Consider articulating this a
bit more explicitly. You may integrate the
idea of trust into the thesis as well.

globally and locally. It is a part of communication that provides people with information that
helps with making decisions about their life, community, society and government. The media is
our main source to knowing what is happening to the world around us. Whether it was about a
kid winning an award in Asia or a fire that went on somewhere in Europe, or even a robbery in a
convenience store here in California, without the media we wouldnt be able to know about these
news. Brooke Gladstone said, in her book The Influencing Machine, ...if you don't inform
yourself, you cant cry about how things are going (34). The media notifies us with our

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:28 PM

Comment [2]: Use present tense for
signal verbs.

surrounding in order to bring awareness to corruptions that affect us and our world. It exposes
the truth and watches the government for any behavior that would benefit our society, and if we
arent aware of the issues around us, then we wont be able to fix and improve our world to a
better one.

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:28 PM

Comment [3]: Or not benefit, for example
corruption.

Throughout history the government have released multiple laws to restrict the freedom of
the media. President John Adams signed the Sedition Act in 1798 controlling any printing and
publishing of anything against the government, congress and the President. The Act expired
when Jefferson became President. Then later, Woodrow Wilson signs the 1917 Espionage Act,

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:30 PM

Comment [4]: The transition is a bit
rough. Consider adding to the topic sentence
to connect with the previous point. For
example: The media plays an important role
in creating a watchful citizenry, but
throughout history . . .

outlawing virtually any speech that could be deemed to harm the war effort. (Gladstone, 22).
Then [Woodrow Wilson] signs the sedition act--1798 all over again. (Gladstone 22). In 1940,
Franklin Roosevelt signed the Sedition Act all over again making it a criminal offense to
advocate overthrowing the government. (Gladstone, 23). The government passed all these
laws to privatize the media and maintain control over what is being published to the public.
These laws and regulations are a way to make sure the media is passing the message that
supports the governments ideas.
Escaping the influence of the media is impossible, because it is everywhere.
The media is our first exposure to everything surrounding us, causing a vast influence on our
societies and the way we view the world. Everywhere one turns, the media will be there
conveying a message about how the world is and how it should be. We live in a world where the
media has a strong saying in our lives, and its influence is mighty powerful. The medias ideal
body type is an example of media influence on our world. We have lived our entire life believing
that the skinnier women is, the more beautiful she is, and the masculine a man is, the more sexier
he is. The media set a specific idea body type to identify what is beautiful, pressuring young
boys and girls, even adults, to attain the perfect body type the media displayed. Models, actresses
and actors, and singers, even mannequins had that perfect ideal body type. Up until now, we
have believed in such thing, because the media made it seem okay and supported the idea of
beautiful being a specific type.

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:31 PM

Comment [5]: Watch out for back-to-back
quotes like this. You may need some
transitional phrasing in your own words.
Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:31 PM
Comment [6]: Nice integration of the
quotes.
Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:32 PM
Comment [7]: Consider a different word
choice. Privatizing means that the media is
owned by corporations.

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:36 PM

Comment [8]: The transition here is a bit
rough as well. Consider a refinement to the
topic sentence. For example, based on what
you go on to say in the paragraph, I think
your point might be that despite
government attempts to control it, the
media has a powerful influence on how we
view the world and ourselves.
Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:34 PM
Comment [9]: Compelling points. Notice
that the paragraph so far stays at a general
level. To develop more specifically, consider
bringing in a specific example and/or
testimony/quote to illustrate.

The medias influence on society is becoming a bigger and bigger problem with the
development of technology. Gladstone said Right now we are tumbling through technological
wormhole and when we come out to the other side, our thoughts will spill seamlessly into
cyberspace with potential to influence minds everywhere (xxi). Technology is increasing the
chances of people, mostly young people to be influenced by the media. Everyone now has access
to the internet, and with the internet various information is shared. This information can be
educating to some us, as we learn more about a homework assignment, a specific event and even
a new topic that we arent aware of. However, with such substantial amount of information,
delusions occur. Anyone with a cell phone can now presume to make, break, or fabricate the
news. (Gladstone, xii). The media cant always be trusted because its sources may or may not
be true. Since technology now is available to everyone, people have the ability to post anything

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:36 PM

Comment [10]: Relevant point.
Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:36 PM
Comment [11]: Check quote integration.

they want into the media giving them the power to have a voice, but sometimes this power is
abused. People can fabricate and post lies which can confuse readers on which is the real truth.
Gladstone, in her chapter The American Exception, talks about Samuel Adams, browers son
and Boston Gazette editor, fabricating stories for his own good. He concocts stories about
British soldiers violating patriot women (16). He was desperately seeking revolution, so he

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:37 PM

Comment [12]: Compelling example, but
Im not sure it is the most effective to your
specific point about technology. This point
about technology could be something to
explore more in Essay 2!

faked stories about the British to start a revolution. Actions like Samuel Adams are reasons why
the media cant be trusted. News and information on the media can be fabricated with causing it
to not be the whole truth.
Media producers have one goal in common, and that is to sell, and with sell I mean
convince certain information to the people. Profit is something that combines all media makers
together. The more media being sold, the more profit is being made. The media cant always be
trusted because it doesn't cover everything. Each media source has its own audience with a

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:38 PM

Comment [13]: I like this phrase.

specific taste, and in order to sell, the media needs to report what its audience want to see.
Gladstone said, The American media are not afraid of the government. They are afraid of their
audiences and advertisers (xiv). The media reports according to what the people want, because
that sells and profit has been the big goal to news makers. Because media makers are pressured
to find news to sell, they sometimes end up making their own story that will sell. According to

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:39 PM

Comment [14]: Consider bringing in a
specific discussion of commercial bias.

Gladstone, Hundreds of mostly pro-union reporters sweep the battlefield in search of scoops,
freely inventing when they cant find any. (75). If reporters in 1864, who didnt have the
technology we have now, can make their own stories in 1864, then reporters in 2016 can
obviously sugar coat their reports to fit the taste of the viewers, and thats where bias comes into
play.
There are many types of bias, and Gladstone dedicates a whole chapter talking about the

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:39 PM

Comment [15]: Ah ok

different types of bias in the media. On page 65, she talks about Narrative bias and uses the
toppling of Saddam Husseins statue as her example. According to Gladstone, pulling down the
statue was not an act of iraqis, in fact, it was a Marine gunners idea to pull down the statue. He
then gave the iraqis a rope and a sledge hammer as they ran to the empty square. The media
zoomed in to the iraqis and made it seem as a totally different story than what actually happened.
Gladstone said, They could have used a wider shot, but the view wouldn't fit the narrative (68).
The different types of bias affect the credibility of the media and its sources, leaving us hanging
on whether we trust the media or not.
To me trusting the media is a complicated issue. I dont watch the news or follow up with
local or global news, but i do use social media and I always come up to find some news while
browsing instagram for example. I dont trust the news channel to share the whole truth. Post
reporter Walter Pincus quoted something the Senator Eugene McCarthy once told him, which

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:40 PM

Comment [16]: Note its = contraction of
it is. Its = possessive pronoun.

was, The press is a bunch of blackbirds -- all on a wire. One bird will fly to another wire, and
when it doesnt get electrocuted, all the birds will fly to that wire. (Gladstone, 45). To me, the
blackbirds were the media. If one media source shared a piece of information and the
government and the people accepted it then all the other media sources will share the same
information. If the government and the people had a bad response to the report, then the other
sources will back off and leave the problem alone. Therefore the media cannot always be trusted

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:41 PM

Comment [17]: Relevant point. Often, we
see them repeating the same information.

because the whole truth isnt always shared. It all depends on the medias and governments
response.
There are many purposes to the media. It shines the light on issues that arent talked
about, it informs us with problems facing our world and brings our attention to issues that affect

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:43 PM

Comment [18]: Is there an opportunity to
bring in content from Exam 1 to illustrate,
especially given the reference to Jarecke in
your conclusion below?

our societies, and it also lets us know the latest trends to follow. Just like the media has a positive
side, it also has a negative side where it could affect us badly. It can be bad influence on us and
younger generation especially, it can sell us false information so the media makes can gain profit
and it could cover up and hide some things and give us the uncompleted truth. In conclusion, the
media cant always be trusted to give us the right truthful information we need. Fabrications, lies,
censorships and profit are all concepts that construct an untrustworthy media.
The media doesnt report everything because not everyone is interested in seeing detailed
images of war, or hearing stories about problems in other countries not related to us. We are like
little kids who break something and say they didnt do it. Kenneth Jarecke, a photographer, said,
If were big enough to fight a war, we should be big enough to look at it. So if we can live our
lives in a world with corruption and problems without facing them and fixing the issues, then
what does that say about our moral standards?

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:43 PM

Comment [19]: Compelling point. As a
reader, I want to read more of your ideas
about this! It could be a jumping off point
for Essay 2.

Works Cited
Brooke, Gladstone. The Influencing Machine. New York: Norton & Company, 2012.
Print.
Torie Rose, Deghett. The War Photo No One Would Publish. The Atlantic, Aug 8, 2014.
Print.

Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:49 PM

Comment [20]: Reverse the indent. The
Works Cited uses a hanging indent.
Valerie Fong 5/15/2016 1:50 PM
Comment [21]: Note: article titles go in
quotation marks, no italics.

Lara: Your essay raises thoughtful ideas and analysis that demonstrate your consideration of the
topic, texts, and larger conversation. In particular, I like that you brought in ideas from your
own observations, such as the influence media has on us with respect to body image and cultural
norms, as well as the way in which technology has made it easier for regular citizens to post
information, making that information more difficult to trust. I actually see several points in this
essay that could be interesting to explore in more depth for Essay 2.
For your next essay, you can focus on:

Scope/Definition of the Task: There is room for further development before you reach the
maximum number of pages. One way to develop could be to integrate content from your
Exam 1, which can help explain one condition under which the news media really is in
conflict, when, as Gladstone states, we see almost all of the biases come out.

Focus/Thesis: The introduction is effective in establishing the context and conversation.

See my suggestion about a refinement to the thesis.

Organization: The organizational logic is not as clear as a it could be, and I think this
could be improved with some revisions to the topic sentences. See my suggestions for
how you can build in transitional devices into the topic sentences.

Paragraph development: I see relevant details and quotes from the text. See where I
suggest when additional support can help strengthen the paragraph development.

Proofreading: Watch out for some proofreading errors, including capitalization of proper
nouns and first person pronoun remember, that is one of your habits/patterns, so look
for that especially when you proofread!

Format: See some minor edits needed to the Works Cited list.

I enjoyed reading your work, Lara. -Valerie