The Effects of Negative Media in the United States: Negative Media Creates an Apathetic Nation

Jonathan Smith

Problem Statement

Has the amount of negative media made the United States indifferent toward correcting the wrongs of society?

Introduction

The effects of media have been studied many times over the last few decades. Many researchers have conducted studies examining the effects of media on groups and individuals in society (Orange and George 2000). They are all trying to answer questions, which pertain to the correlation between media and its effects. Does media have an effect on people? What are the effects of media?

Several studies have discovered that there are a number of negative effects associated with media. Some researchers have gone as far as to say that, "Media insinuate themselves into people's homes and lives and steal the innocence, empathy, and sensitivity of their children” (Orange and George 2000). This might not be the case with all types of media, but the negative effects are still note worthy.

Before we attack the foundation of media, we must first define the term itself. Media is “all the means of communication, as newspapers, radio, and TV that provide the public with news, entertainment, etc., usually along with advertising” (Neufeldt 1997). Negative media is all the means of communication portrayed on a negative subject, topic, or occurrence. Let us take for example the news broadcast. Many television channels use a format that places the majority of its negative, “news worthy,” events at the beginning of its broadcast. A typical broadcast, in some specific areas, would start with a national blockbuster event (murder trial, politics, economic, etc.). The more controversial events first. This could be followed by a plethora of negative events that occurred locally. Does this type of broadcast, accompanied with other types of negative media, have an effect on the broadcast’s viewers? Can it give society a sense of hopelessness if it is replayed in their houses daily? And are there any links between these effects and the attitudes held by society?

One attitude prevalent in today’s society is apathy. Apathy is defined as a “lack of interest; listless condition; unconcern; indifference” (Neufeldt 1997). Political apathy is a topic, which has been highly researched. Politicians have been fighting for Americans to get involved with the government, and the educational system. This political push has developed into several research studies. These studies have been conducted to see how apathy can be reduced in the education system (Harper 1975). When the models of previous apathetic research are connected to the effects of media, a whole new dimension can be created in media research. This dimension can try to discern whether or not apathy is an effect of media.

Past studies have stated that media does have a negative effect on society (Orange and George 2000). Other studies have shown that some people are apathetic towards making a change in society (Zack 1998). More importantly, there has even been a recent study on media violence, which had discovered a correlation between apathy towards intervening during a fight and the viewing of violent media (Cantor 2000). This recent study is a breath of encouragement for further studies in cooperative study between media effects and apathy. Therefore, I am proposing this research to reveal more information about the link between media effects and apathy prevalent in society.

Literature Review

“The Real Dangers of Conglomerate Control” is an article that attempts to focus on whether the conglomeration of corporate companies is corrupting the journalism field. The article was produced from a journalist forum, which was called to discuss “the consequences for journalism…” moving towards a trend of conglomeration” (Tucher 1997). One question that the forum was trying to answer was why are some corporations always presented either negatively or positively in certain news reports?

The article entails the notion that a lot of the media corporations in the U.S. are starting to tap into the well of prosperity, which are one of the benefits of being in a conglomerate. As a conglomerate, certain bonds and connections are formed (Tucher 1997). As many know, you never want to “bite the hands that feed you.” This situation is abundantly prevalent with media corporations. Ken Auletta, panel moderator, made these facts well known upon opening the discussion at the forum. He gave examples of how ABC, CBS, and NBC gave more attention to positive news about their associates. When negative news arose the stations tried to either brighten up or did not even report the negative news. Auletta went as far as to say that, “the more corporate retreats you invite editors to, the more the danger you have of converting those editors into tame, corporate citizens” (Tucher 1997). This brings in the ethical issue of journalist excepting gifts from outside sources, which is against the code of ethics in journalism.

When media begin to cut and paste stories because of ties with conglomerates, it also begins to leave a lot of free space in newspapers, magazines, television news reports, etc. This creates a situation where stories are just being written to fill free spaces, but not report the “newsworthy events.” It is not a journalist job to alter or leave out news reports, because it makes their boss pockets bigger. Their job is "meant to prize their independence, not teamwork” (Tucher 1997). Informing the audience of who, what, when, where, why and how, from an observer’s standpoint is the job of a journalist. Whether they are reporting on a prestigious contributor to their company, such as wealthy businessman, or an everyday Joe, the journalist should report the story without any favoritism.

During the forum, Dorothy Rabinowitz, a panel participant, brought up "the enemy of journalism" (Tucher 1997). She felt that a problem in journalism has been its tendency to generalize, in better words having a "herd mentality” (Tucher 1997). This statement establishes three facts about the argument at hand. One, the formation of a conglomerate has had an effect on the field of journalism. Whether this effect is negative or positive is yet to be seen. Two, media has many unsolved and unspoken of problems in the field, which leads some people to discredit field as a whole. Finally, this report reveals that outside forces can control which media the public receives.

Now since it has been stated that there are other factors that can determine which media the public sees, now I turn my attention to the effects of altered media. Many studies have shown that media does have an effect on people. "The Role of Interpretation the Process and Parental Discussion in the Media's Effects on Adolescents' Use of Alcohol" is a journal article that proves that media can have an effect on adolescents. It suggests that the portrayal alcohol in media has an effect on “underage abuse of alcohol” (Austin, Pinkleton, and Fujioka 2000). The journal provides all of its testing information within the article. The results of their study indicate that media affects adolescents, but it also indicated that the parental influence also had an effect on adolescents (Austin, Pinkleton, and Fujioka 2000). They discovered that parental influence is most effective in the early ages of childhood. This is another study that proves that media has an effect on people. This small-scale research has proven that the adolescents of the United States have shown an effect of media, but it raises the question “Isn’t adolescence a part of every humans life cycle. And can we equate these results to different age groups?” All these question encourage the need for a research that encompasses the effects of media on a larger scale.

Sacrifice is a word known by many but done by a few. “Child Sacrifice” is an article, written by Carolyn Orange and Amiso George, which presents information that was gathered from the research of the effects of media on African-American children in the United States (Orange and George 2000). The article focuses on television and its effects on children, and relates it to the Pied Piper (of the children’s story The Pied Piper of Harlem). They think that television is leading children down an alternative path, which is drawing them away from the “city,” or their parental guidance. Orange and George state that African American children are highly susceptible to the negative images and messages displayed on television, because “of their excessive exposure to television and the subsequent negative effect on them” (Orange and George 2000).

The article states that “media insinuate themselves into people’s homes and lives and steal innocence, empathy, and sensitivity of their children (Orange and George 2000).” It breaks down the main people (the “Media Pipers” and “Adult Players”) who play a role in effecting children’s behavior. The actual effects of the negative media, the consequences and negative effects of the media, and solutions to this problem are also discussed in this article. “Child Sacrifice” states that the main people responsible for the effect on African American children are media managers, advertisers, institutions, organizations and so on, which are singled-out as the “Media Pipers.” The “Adult Players, “ parents are also ridiculed about their involvement in the sacrifice of African-American children (Orange and George 2000). Orange and George suggest that as a result of the negative media and lack of parental guidance the “Sacrificial Pawns” (African American children and teenagers) are under achieving in education and in life (Orange and George 2000).

The research discovered in this project increases the knowledge of the negative effects of media on children. This research, accompanied with other similar studies all identifies a greater problem. From these small media effect studies, it can be generalized that negative media has a negative effect on society as a whole, but is apathy one of these effects?

A study that is just as popular as a media effects, is the study of apathy. People want to know why certain people either don’t care about what’s happening around them. Thomas Harpers’s article “Altering the Apathetic Parent-Community Attitudes Toward an Inner-City Secondary Community School” uses many apathetic studies to discover the attitude of students and parents toward poor grades, tardiness, vandalism, and violence in schools (Harper 1975). If these studies could be tied in to the effects of media on consumers, then the results of their work can be attributed to a greater cause. If they find our that negative media does make people more apathetic, then new research can be developed on preventing apathy from setting in during tough times.

Psychological research has been used in many apathetic studies. Ronald Dahl’s article “Burned Out And Bored,” uses his research in behavioral pediatrics and child psychiatry to strengthen his argument about apathy. He feels that teenagers have become apathetic because of the over-stimulation. “Constant access to high stimulation may also create patterns of emotional imbalance. An adolescent moving too fast emotionally for too long can experience the same sense of stillness as the airline passenger traveling at breakneck speed,” said Dahl (Dahl 1997). The connection between an over-stimulation of a variable (in my research negative media) causing apathy is apart of the foundation that my research will be built on.

A recent at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has done a media effects study, which is key to my research proposal. They actually found and mentioned a correlation between media violence and apathy. They discovered that constant viewing of violent media causes a higher level of anti-social behavior. They begin to imitate violence toward different things or even commit criminal violence during their lifetime (Cantor 2000). They begin to take violence as the key to their problems. Solving issues with fists instead of wits. The desensitization to their surroundings was the most compelling result of the study. They said that, “desensitization is another well-documented effect of viewing violence, the reduced tendency to intervene in a fight, and less sympathy for the victims of violence” (Cantor 2000). This study has proven that the foundation of my research, the correlation between media effects and apathy, is reliable. The separation of my research and theirs’ comes out when their research was not based on the study of apathy, but it just happened to be result that they stumbled upon. In conclusion, these literary works have given me a strong foundation to begin my research. They produce valid information, which will support my research.

Methodology

To conduct this research I will use a survey based on a six-point Likert Scale. This will make the participants in the study give their opinion, where no one can have a neutral answer. The statistical significance of attitudes towards negative media will be measured with correlations. If there is a significant relationship between negative media and apathy it will show up in my statistics. After the demographic data is documented, the first questions will rate subjects attitudes toward different types of media. These questions will be followed up by questions that will rate their level of apathy. This will also be measured on a six-point Likert Scale.

The sample size of my research will encompass 5% of the regional areas population. The regions of the United States will be broken into six regions (North East, Mid Atlantic, South East, Central Plains, Mid West, South West, and West). I will use a field experiment to conduct the testing. This will allow me to control a lot of the outside factors, which may cause an error in my research.

After calculation, the data will be summarized by mean, mode, variance, standard deviation, and correlations. This will give me the significance of my findings, and tell me if apathy, in the United States, is on of the effects of negative media are related.

Sample Survey

General Information Section:

Circle the letter that corresponds with your age group.

I am younger than 13
13-18
19-29
30-45
46-62
63-75
I am older than 75

Gender

a. Female

b. Male

Ethnicity

Asian American
European American
African American
Latino American
African
Asian
European
Hispanic
Other ________

Region

North East
Mid Atlantic
South East
Central Plains
Mid West
South West
West

Do you own a TV?

a. Yes

b. No

How do you stay informed about national events?

a. News paper

b. Television

c. Radio

d. Computer

e. Magazine

f. Other___________

Do you own a radio?

a. Yes

b. No

Number of years you have lived in the United States.

a. Less than 1 year

b. 1 year

c. 2 years

d. 3 years

e. 4 years

f. 5 years

g. More than 5 years

Survey Questions

Circle the number that corresponds with your feelings.

1. Journalism is a trustworthy profession.