Political Significance of the News Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Significance of the News Media - Essay Example The central point in our paper will try to close upon the actual significance of news media in registering and reflecting the socio-political transitions against a global mirror. By comparing and contrasting the viewpoints of the libertarian socialist Noam Chomsky, who concentrates on the aspect of totalitarianism practised by the radio stations, television, newspapers and cables in the name of global voice and that of the Glasgow Media Group, which adapts a somewhat open approach to critically define the nature of media coverage by the developed part of the world. There is an astonishing disparity between the news and the story featured by most of the popular media groups for public presentation, thereby manipulating the political discourse in an unprecedented manner. Keeping this in mind, we will take the discussion ahead with the similar and contrasting views on News Media of Noam Chomsky and the Glasgow Media Group. Noam Chomsky has been one of the leading authorities on linguistics, political thought and philosophy of the 20th century. Always known for his unique thoughts, Chomsky has written a great deal about the role of mass media in a democratic state. Asserting that the world of the News Media was dominated by the rich and the wealthy, Chomsky highlighted the narrowness of perspective of this medium (Stark, 1998). In discussing about the media, Chomsky further pointed out that newspapers which reached the masses at large, have witnessed a dwindling of their significance with the sudden surge of the television. With televised news and advertisements being controlled by the wealthy corporate, newspapers have become costlier to the regular reader. Chomsky raised his voice against this very 'corporatisation' of the media. Instead of serving as a strong vehicle of providing real news, the media has almost become a money making machine. Depriving the common man of stirring social and political problems and belittling other important issues, (Scannell, et al, 279), the media has simply become a marketing tool, catering to the needs of the so-called buyers and sellers. Press conferences have attained an unprecedented significance, supplying news continuously, in turn publicizing the role of the government and other business groups. Talking about world politics, Chomsky mentioned that the media championed the U.S government policies, underlining the benevolence of the country. Moving away from these sycophantic assumptions, Chomsky described the role of the News media in analyzing US foreign policy. The news media was strongly influenced by government policy making (Institute of Communication Studies, 2001). In Chomsky's words, the U.S. foreign policy was marked by unique patterns. Adding on to the four freedoms, which Roosevelt propagated during the World War II, of speech, worship, want and freedom from fear, Chomsky spoke of a fifth freedom in U.S. foreign policy. He called this freedom, the right to rob and exploit. Chomsky and co-author Hermann affirmed that the U.S. encroached upon the human rights of a few dependant economies,

Walt Whitman's Idea of Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Walt Whitman's Idea of Women - Essay Example A look into his works, that are, at times, vivid with sexuality, proves that his works are a mixture of transcendentalism and realism, where he found females equal to males, and in fact, more important than males. However, he himself seems highly influenced by the social and religious norms that surrounded him in the 19th century that he could not see any other role for women other than household works, procreation of healthy offspring for the state, and keeping themselves healthy and willing to overtly express their sexual desires. Moreover, in his attempt to show the importance of females, he ends up giving them more importance than males because of their higher role in reproduction. In my opinion, Whitman is one among the many sex radicals of the 19th century, and though he proposed revolutionary ideologies on free expression of female sexuality, they are clouded by his own expression of male dominance in his works. This makes his position as a feminist a matter of controversy. Tr aditional roles of women in Whitman’s works Killingsworth admits the fact that for many scholars, Whitman’s females are nothing more than ‘functional creatures’ with just muscles and wombs (1). In addition, there comes the allegation that their only functions are sex and birth. This allegation seems substantiated in many of his writings. In ‘A woman waits for me’, he points out â€Å"yet all were lacking†¦if the moisture of the right man were lacking† (A woman waits for me). Here, instead of the desire to reform female covert expression of sex, the main intention seems to be the desire to make them cope with the unquenched sexual desires of the male-dominated society. As one moves ahead, there is the evident expression of what a chauvinist prefers to see in the females with whom he wants to have sex. â€Å"They are tann’d in the face by shining suns and blowing winds/ Their flesh has the old divine suppleness and strength/ They know how to swim, row, ride, wrestle, shoot, run, strike, retreat, advance, resist, defend themselves.† However, for a woman who possesses all these qualities, the duty Whitman gives is â€Å"I shall demand perfect men and women out of my love spendings.† Thus, it becomes very evident that though he seems careful about the health and wellbeing of females, the two responsibilities they are supposed to do, according to him, are healthy procreation and healthy sex. However, this conception about his intentions is, to a great extent, removed when one looks into his Prose Writings (II, 37 2n). He points out that the sole way to a reconstructed society depends on â€Å"new birth, elevation, expansion, invigoration of women, affording, for races to come†¦ a perfect motherhood† (qtd. Killingsworth, 3). Here, though his outlook is justified remarkably, it seems that his intention to elevate females is based on the need to ensure proper motherhood; not for female s’ sake. However, a look into the Prose Works of 1892 reveals that his intention was not only to make females willing to procreate healthy generation, but the kind of women he envisioned would be â€Å"robust equals, workers, and even practical and political deciders with men† (Whitman, Prose Works). Thus, in the opinion of people