Pre Class, Bourdieu, 4/7, meg143

The reading “On Television” by Pierre Bourdieu shed a new light on how the media, particularly TV, have such an extreme control over our society and our greater world. The reading starts by discussing the massive changes that came into journalism when TV media became popular. It was the first form of universal news that has had a great impact on our political and cultural standpoints. I definitely agree with this and feel that television changed our world but I also feel that the impact of the Internet has been even greater. It is hard to fathom what will be the next new media tool that will change life, as we know it all over again. As Bourdieu discussed the differences between popular TV news and controversial TV news I was surprised at his connection. He discussed what it takes for a news channel or newspaper to be popular among the masses, “It must attempt to be inoffensive, and it must never bring up problems, or if it does, never bring up problems that pose a problem” (328). I found this very interesting and true, that many of the issues that are brought up over political or cultural values, have a lot of controversy. And the big news networks want to do whatever they can to continue increasing their viewers and ratings. If a controversial topic came on the news and was presented in a way that many people disagreed with than viewers would no longer want to watch that program. This reminded me of the difference between CNN and Fox News, two networks very different from each other, one in support of a more liberal and democratic standpoint and the other much more conservative from a republican standpoint. However, both networks continue to do well because they still have such a wide spectrum of viewers who agree with their bias or opinion. Bourdieu also continued to talk about the power of media in who becomes a “public figure” and what light they are represented in. Journalists and different media outlets are in almost complete control of public expression and can have a very big impact on the person’s reputation according to how they are presented to the public. As we continue learning, our media has many different techniques and tools to keep people watching their programs, and how you are represented in the media is how you are represented to the world.