Donald Trump

Nov

02

KIM at Election Night 2024 (Tivoli Vredenburg)

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Klik hier voor meer informatie.

 

Dec

11

(Fast)food for thoughts: critical reflection on media’s role in the 2016 US election

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During importants events, like the 2016 presidential elections, (news) media need to inform its citizen in an unbiased matter. Unfortunately, economic, political and societal factors sometimes intervene with good journalism. Please reflect critically on the role of the media, during the previous elections, by asking yourself the following questions:

1. Why was there a lack of policy coverage? Which presidential candidate benefited from this?

2. Did the media normalize demagogy? If so, again, which candidate benefited from this? What are the consequences of normalizing demagogy?

3. There wasn’t a deep exploration of the anti- establishment sentiments in, especially, middle America. Why did the media ignore this? And did this influence the outcome?

4. Many journalists lived in a bubble and presented a fixed narrative (Hillary will win). Why? And again, what were the consequences?

5. Few journalists engaged in ‘solutions journalism’ (what can we, as citizens, do? How can we REALLY bring people together -not just talk about it-? And how can we take away people’s fear? etc.). Is this a media outlet’s task and would it change anything?

trumphillary

Jul

25

US Elections 2016: a media consumer’s handbook

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  1. Separate facts from opinions. For example, during Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, she mentioned that the White House was built by slaves. Some media outlets reported that this wasn’t true. The website politfact.com investigated Michelle Obama’s statement. Read in this article why Mrs. Obama is right.
  2. Compare multiple media sources.
  3. Language is important. Pay attention to the language the reporter uses. Think about how terms like Crooked Hillary and Dump Trump influence the debate.
  4. Investigate the owners (and editors in chief) of the media outlets. Do they vote? And for which candidate? What government rules and regulations benefit the owner of the media outlet? Do they have a ‘relationship’ with people from a political party? etc.
  5. Realize that different techniques are used to get your attention and that the stories are carefully crafted. Some media outlets purposely show parts of a political event to sell a story. For instance, some media will only show empty seats to confirm that the candidate/speaker is not popular. Other media might focus (more) on angry protesters to paint a certain picture of the candidate’s following.

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