False Media: The Lack of Credibility in News Today

Image by MTV Audience Cam via huffingtonpost.com.

On August 24, 2013, Miley Cyrus shocked fans around the world with her revealing performance at the VMA awards. Her performance held such an impact that it prompted the release of a picture of Will Smith’s family reacting to Cyrus’s performance. However, the family photo, as it turns out, was not even taken during Miley Cyrus’s performance. According to huffingtonpost.com, the picture was caught on the MTV Audience Cam during Lady Gaga’s performance of “Applause.” What’s more, the photo itself was taken from a video segment, which hides the family’s true reactions to the performance shown in the duration of the video.  Nevertheless, this picture was passed off as a result of Cyrus’s performance, despite the fact that it was taken out of context.

Lately, social media has shown not only how gullible the American people have become in receiving news, but also the measures and tactics media posters will take to get a reaction from viewers. News has become so easily accessible that anyone is able to post anything on the Internet and know it will reach a certain audience to an extent. The easy accessibility also forces professional reporters and journalists to be last on the scene to tell news since they take time to credit their sources.  Though citizen bloggers may post the news first, their sources and information may not always be true.  Yet, it is passed off as sincere evidence to the American people and questioned afterward regarding its validity.

As for the American people, the freedom of social media is slowly causing them to lose their ability to take news with an open mind. The easy accessibility of the Internet allows them to search for articles and evidence that contributes to their own beliefs rather than seeing issues all around.  For instance, at the close of Osama bin Laden’s death, a false photo was used to identify his corpse to the public, according to washingtonpost.com.  The devastating 9/11 attacks left an impact on the American people so powerful that many took any evidence of bin Laden’s death as the truth in order to settle their own personal feelings.  The photo, even though it was fake, provided physical proof to Americans that bin Laden was dead, and for many, that was enough proof for them.

Theatlantic.com describes another example of several false photographs depicting Hurricane Sandy that were mainstreamed in the news and passed off as actual evidence of the hurricane.  Even though many photos were false or not properly sourced, the American people believed the photos to be real simply because they related to Hurricane Sandy.  Many Americans assumed they were real because they were similar to other pictures of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.  In the end, the photos were passed off as professional pictures depicting the hurricane even though many were not, and only a few questioned their validity.

Though social media has made it easier to create and distribute false news, it still has severe consequences for both reporters and the public. The lack of evidence and credibility in false news can lead to public mistrust of the media, creating difficulties in a time of crisis.  It also demotes credibility among professional reporters and journalists who do take time to credit their sources. The false photo of the Smith family was posted as a joke to emit a reaction among viewers who were shocked by Cyrus’s performance. It was posted for public pleasure and enjoyment, meant to summarize the average reaction of the performance. Even though many fans were disappointed to learn the picture was falsified, the correct source and context is best for all forms of media in order to promote media stability and continuance.

Breaking News in Movies

Marlin Clownfish, 1211 Sea Anemone, will be awarded the Clam of Honor Thursday for his heroic actions in the rescue of his son.

Intoxicated tourists vandalized Las Vegas casino and terrified residents with their crazy antics Saturday night after confusing Rohypnol with ecstasy.

Queen Elsa has returned to the castle ready to get back to work after her three-day winter getaway in Arendale’s fjords.

Prince Charming announced Friday his engagement to Cinderella, the winner of his post-ball slipper search, after successfully winning the custody lawsuit filed by Lady Tremaine.

After years of abuse and being locked in a glass coffin, Snow White is recovering well and happy with her new husband, authorities say.

Help Wanted for Humanities (and English and Art and Music)

Particularly for careers in English, Humanities, Music, and Art, career paths are unpredictable and many graduates are not given valuable or notable information upon graduating that prepares them for their career. Instead, instruction is focused upon careers popular for this day and age. According to alec.co.uk, the three most popular jobs for 2016 are Network Systems Analyst, Physician’s Assistant, and Medical Assistants. Jobs in the medical and technology field are rising, so college students with medical and technology majors are better prepared to receive a job directly after graduation than college students with degrees in less popular fields.

However, what many colleges fail to realize is that there are many different jobs and career paths for degrees in Humanities and the Arts. Writingforward.com lists 20 different positions for Creative Writing and English majors to pursue careers in and studentartguide.com lists over 150 different careers possible for an Art major. The point being, there are several different careers and job opportunities to pursue with less popular degrees, but many college students are unaware of these careers from a lack of communication and connections within the university.

This does not necessarily mean that all English, Humanities, and Art majors must pursue careers in their own field. Jobsearch.about.com lists the top ten jobs popular for English majors that do not directly include writing. Jobs such as Lawyers, Social Media Managers, and Public Relations Specialists are also areas that require a great deal of writing and creativity not necessarily demonstrated in book form. In fact, several employers in today’s economy search for employees who are creative, can read and write well, and have strong leadership skills, qualities that can apply to all majors and fields.

Although careers in the technological and medical field are rising, careers in the Humanities and the Arts have been everlasting. Throughout the centuries, there has always been some form of art, music, or literature that serves to bring news, express opinions, or simply exist to enact the emotions of others. College students within these fields uphold a long-standing legacy which is currently being neglected as a suitable career. If these college students were given the same career counseling as college students with more popular majors, they would be more likely to bring careers in music, art, humanities, and English back into a popular career field area.

Shakespeare in Schools

William Shakespeare

Everyone knows their names: Walt Whitman, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Harper Lee. But one name stands apart, striking fear and dread into the hearts of all high school and college students: Shakespeare. By high school almost every student has heard of Shakespeare’s works and determined a general idea of how much effort to put forth in understanding his language. According to brighthubeducation.com, many students have become afraid of the classics. They have been told “Shakespeare is hard” or “Shakespeare is boring.”

And why is this? Many students are not raised in an atmosphere where Shakespeare’s work is regularly celebrated or studied at an early age. Although several elementary school children have seen a few of Shakespeare’s plays, such as Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, the language and meaning is not generally touched upon until high school. In high school studies focus on the language and meaning of Shakespeare’s plays rather than the entertainment value.  Because of this, children learn to hate Shakespeare and his plays for a lack of entertainment in learning.

However, if children are introduced to the language while physically watching Shakespeare’s plays, they would be willing to put forth more effort in understanding the poetic language since learning would become both entertaining and educational. In fact, several Shakespeare-oriented activities that offer study of the poetic language as well as the fun and entertainment value of watching the plays are already in practice. According to dmoz.org, there are over 61 Shakespeare-directed festivals and companies within the United States.

By involving the community members, parents, teachers and their fellow peers, children would be encouraged to embrace literature. Currently, there are several after-school centers featuring detailed study in Shakespeare’s works such as The Shakespeare Society’s educational outreach program. However, many such programs are costly and unaffordable for low-income families and also require several hours after school, interfering with children’s other activities. Community events as well are hard to plan and even harder to enact on a regular basis.

Though Shakespeare’s work is difficult to teach and even harder to understand for most high school and college students, there are several methods besides complete community interaction that promote increased motivation for embracing the literature. For instance, watching movies made today based off Shakespeare’s plays, such as Romeo + Juliet and Twelfth Night, offer entertainment as well as employ the poetic language within the speech.  Though not perfect imitations, they offer a basic understanding of the play and allow for a better understanding of the play when read.