Assignment:
I would use my power to identify some of the overly abused criteria the media may introduce. We now have where news is considered “fake news” which is not the case here but at times could overly represent coverage. Teaching your children how things are because ultimately those as parents have that responsibility. We have the power to shape the reality. This generation is shown through the media that “all” police officers are racist that just is not true. Some police do abuse their power but that shouldn’t throw shade on the officers who actually do their job well.
Media does play a role in socially constructing crime and justice reality. I believe it is to be true for all races and ethnic groups. A constant example would be the War on Drugs, when the media would report it would always show people of color as the source of the crime. I also see that when blacks being killed by police is also making it more of a fear of being a victim by the media. Not saying that blacks should not be aware of those incidents but all people should be aware of that incident. This maybe shown as happening to black men and women more but it could also happen to anyone. I don’t think ads like “taking a bit out of crime” should be ignored because it does open the perception of crime. There is a crime stoppers billboard that shows a police officer arresting a Hispanic man, now should this be offense because it shows a white officer arresting a Hispanic? No because this is a possible thing to happen. The same affect should take place if it was an African American. Just because a negative label has been placed on someone doesn’t mean that its true.
Surveillance is shown by media to be either good or bad. When it comes to personal attacks then the surveillance is praised. When media shows how surveillance conflicts with a person’s privacy then it gets negative responses. I don’t think that privacy issues have been affected to the degree that would cause policy change. I believe we have a choice of what we allow people to watch. If we are doing right then it shouldn’t really matter that we are watched. Now if it comes out that we are being watched for other reason than safety or monitoring potential criminal activity then yes, we must stand up for our rights. We leave in a generation now with digital cameras, camera phones etc. Privacy is not an issue with what many people capture these days. We as the people have the right to live our lives in a respectable manor which doesn’t really capture the attention of media. According to Ellen Simon of NBC News says, “The embedded process was supposed to give government a better handle on what journalists were doing, but now you have this whole rogue operation of civilians with digital cameras who have access to things the media don’t.” (Simon, 2004). We have more control than what we think.
I don’t believe I can change the perception of crime and justice in the media. The media must many outlets. I believe it goes deeper than just the media. Meaning the media can only show you end results. It’s not always able to show what lead up to the event. Civilians who try to change this perception gets ignored because it may hurt ratings. The news is very informative when it needs to be. There are many news stations that do not support certain views I might have or views that many others have. Until there is more unity then then change in the media will never be successful.
Your answer must be in 500 words, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format.