The Unbearable White Media Analysis

A liberal is a person that believes that the government should provide equality for all, while a conservative is a person that believes in limited government and that the government should provide the necessary freedom for people to pursue their own goals. Over time, it has been argued, mostly by conservatives, that there is a liberal bias in the media. Liberals have combated this idea with the belief that conservative media is devoted to making efforts to invoke fear and division in the general public. Though liberals make a fine counter-argument, it is easier to observe that the media is liberal-biased. The liberal versus conservative debate can be compared to facts versus values. Another reason for bias within the media is that a significant percentage of minorities, or smaller groups within the population that are often thought to be poorer, politically identify themselves as liberals. To make these minorities feel like the government is on their side as well as everyone else’s, the media must accommodate the needs of these minorities. Because of this, the media becomes liberal-biased.

Chao and Felix Gutierrez are both well recognized professors in the University of California. Felix Gutierrez is well known for his expertise in journalism and changing the news industry (on race and ethnicity) over the past few years. Lena M. Chano is known for her academic work that has been in several journals over the united states. This particular book looks at how racial and ethnic inclusiveness has grown to be more important as our society has become increasingly diverse. Racism, Sexism, and the Media: The Rise of Class Communication in Multicultural America examines how people of color fit into the fabric of America and how the media tell them and others how they fit. Authors Clint C. Wilson, Félix Gutiérrez, and Lena M. Chao perceive the rise of class communication as a result of the convergence of new media technologies and continued demographic segmentation of audiences as people of color grow as targets of and markets for the media. This book goes in depth and solidifies the stance point on how much the media plays a part in all of this. This books Gives you an idea on exactly the way the media

I would argue that Dana Mastro’s 2015 article titled ‘Why the Media’s Role in Issues of Race and Ethnicity Should be in the Spotlight’ makes an important contribution to our understanding of the media’s role in the construction of perceptions of racial and ethnic groups and how these perceptions effect the social position of the people that they are about .This is largely because the media plays a huge role in an individual’s daily lives and it is very difficult to avoid its influence, at least partly, due to its frequency at which it is consumed. Moreover it provides a very good overview of many of the issues regarding race and inequality which makes it very good for Its intended purpose, to encourage further research into the area as the writer sees it as important. First Mastro argues that ‘media exposure has been determined to play a meaningful role in matters ranging from the construction and maintenance of racial/ethnic cognitions (and emotions), to expectations about intergroup relations, to policy decision making, to perceptions of self and identity’ (Mastro,D.2015.pg.1/2) .

The influence of mass media in our lives has grown exponentially in the last decade. As mass media platforms have developed and expanded, human societies have gained unprecedented access and updates to news occurring around the globe. We trust and rely on the media as our source for current news, education, and entertainment. While there is a seemingly infinite amount of content available, only a small fraction of that content appears in national media reports. More often than not, we absorb this information without considering who is behind the information or how that information may impact how we interact with one another. Prior to writing this paper, I did not realize that over 90% of the media in the United States is owned by six major corporations. These corporations have the power to shape our opinions and heavily influence our beliefs and decisions. This paper will analyze Missing White Woman Syndrome (MWWS), the disproportionate

Media influence is one of the most powerful economic and cultural forces today. By deciding who gets to talk, what shapes the debate, who writes, and what is important enough to report, media shape our understanding of who we are and what we can be. You could go to a film, switch on the TV, tune in to the radio, turn the pages of a magazine, or surf online. Regardless of your choice of media, you’d have a good chance of encountering stereotypes that perpetuate gender discrimination. The “Miss Representation” documentary film written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom exposes how mainstream media and culture contribute to the under representation of women in positions of power and influence in America.

Sociologists and economists have been acknowledging these growing disparities for years, as the aforementioned video detailed. Dye’s entire book, Who’s Running America?, first published in the 1970’s and updated many times since, also clarifies the ways in which these inequalities have been growing and exacerbating themselves in the institutions within which we live. A concentrated national elite, according to Dye, holds “the concentration of authority and control in American society.”(11) In his book, The American Class Struggle in an Age of Growing Inequality, Gilbert also acknowledges advancing disparities in an American economy (even as he sometimes attempts to negate their importance). In an explanatory introduction, Gilbert tells us, “(a) wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the richest 1 percent of households; (b) the share of income by the top 1 percent has more than doubled; (c) the income advantage of the top 5 percent over the bottom 40 percent of families soared after the 1970’s; and (d) the country has made no progress against poverty in the last four decades.”(17) There is grand consensus among prominent economists of varied opinions and backgrounds that the concentration of wealth is, in fact,

While the media might not directly contribute to discrimination, the media is undoubtedly a significant aspect of modern day society that influences how people think about racial issues (Royce, 2009, p. 1, 17). Many people claim that racism no longer exists; however, the minorities’ struggle with injustice is ubiquitous. Whites are attempting to keep blacks and other minority families locked into an impoverished political and economic position by using various tactics to isolate them, such as mass incarceration that stems from the War on Drugs. The New Jim Crow helps us in seeing how history is repeating itself and how to legalized discrimination among the blacks and Hispanics by implementing the mass incarceration.

America has a lengthy history on how it became the powerful country it is today, and although its history can be interrupted in many ways (depending who you ask) one thing that is for certain is that wealth has yet to be distributed equally amongst minorities. According to the article “Income inequality matter; Extreme gap in wealth makes society unstable.” Philip Meyer claims that the wealth gap between whites and minorities has existed since Ronald Reagans’ term of presidency (A9). Although Ronald Reagans’ term ended many years ago the mistakes that caused this imbalance of wealth (and its aftermath) while he was in office remains almost if not exactly the same as when the problem initially began (Meyer A9). The wealth gap continues to target minorities and is affecting our communities at an alarming rate, however, many attempts have been made to reduce its existence but the factors of income inequality, unemployment rates and discrimination before and after our recent 2007 recession prevents our country from eliminating such a toxic problem.

Peggy McIntosh concludes white privilege is, “an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was meant to remain oblivious.” The writer came to this conclusion when observing male privilege initially in America. McIntosh discusses the lack of acknowledgement of men when it came to addressing their own advantages over women even if they could admit the position of disadvantage of women. This shed light on how white privilege is curtailed; In the United States, foundations of our society are interlaced with institutionalized privilege creates unethical levels of dominance; dominance of males over females, whites over people of color,

Although all women suffer a wage gap among men, there is worse inequality among the women alone. White women are known to make more income and gain more wealth than women of color with a similar educational level. My focus is on how women of color face more discrimination, therefore creating profound negative long-term consequences. Not only is this financially affecting them, but all aspects of their lives including their families. This makes it hard for them to get support to be financially stable and have upward mobility.

In today’s culture, people are constantly being influenced by media, whether it is subconsciously through advertisements or consciously through news media or any form of entertainment. Society, young and old, comes to understand the world through the media they consume and that means that the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of nonwhites is a problem that more and more people are starting to notice. Studies are being conducted to analyze different aspects of the lack of representation in the media. However, few have proposed practical, if any, solutions to this growing problem. The solution starts with addressing who is responsible for the lack of representation. The white-dominated executive positions that are behind the problem also

The United Sates, whose national dogma emphasizes equity and stresses that hard work leads to success, has one of the poorest social mobility ratings in the developed world (Deparle). This means that if you were born towards the bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum, you would have a better chance of ascending to a higher class if you were born in several Western European countries as oppose to if you were born in the United States. As Richard Wilkonson bluntly put it in his TED Talk, “If Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark” (Wilkonson). How did we arrive at a point where the difference between being rich and poor is so drastic and where social mobility is so difficult? Educational inequalities, failure of government policy and a social separation between the classes has resulted in an unjust system that prevents the nation from maximizing its potential.

Reading Chapter 11: Gendered media reminded me why I majored in communications. The media has such a significant influence on all our lives. I wanted to be a part of that influence and to ultimately help turn the way society portrays people. The media’s influence can get into a person’s subconscious, and unwillingly it will control how we think and what we view as important. I would like to think I am not effected by the media, but I am. I tend to not settle for local news, I always make the effort to stay current on what is going on a global scale through different media outlets. With the rise of fake news I am constantly forced to question these sources and the agenda behind these new stories. It hurts me that in the United States we focus

The concept of gender and race representation in media has reminded me that the representation of people of color is not visible. The push for people of color to act on certain stereotypes shows that the media wants them to be portrayed in a certain way. The media pushes white people into positive leading roles that make it difficult for people of color to gain opportunity. Media uses its power to dissociate themselves on their reasoning on why they do not cast people of color for roles. In their article, “Gender, Race, and Media Representation”, Dwight E. Brooks and Lisa P. Hebert states, “Western industrialized societies are stratified by hierarchies of race, gender, and class that structure our social experience” (Brooks & Hebert 298) This hierarchy provides the placement of where people will be casted into media. The representation of gender and race in media has clarified that the hierarchy they have created, has

The dominant groups can play a role in marginalizing other groups based on racial and characteristics involving privilege tends to open doors of opportunity, but oppression tends to slam them shut. The dominant groups has played a role of marginalization to other groups based on racial characters that involve oppression and have emphasized pervasive nature of social inequality woven throughout social institutions. The dominant groups reap advantage and benefit from access to social power and privilege, not equally available to people of color. They receive more money and accumulate more assets than other racial groups, hold the majority of positions of power and influence, and command the controlling institutions in society. The dominant groups restrict the life expectancy, infant mortality, income, housing, employment, and educational opportunities of people of color for economic, social or political power (Adams et al., 2013).