A Manipulative Agenda?

The Case against Barack Obama

I have been an avid follower of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign since the start of the year. The sources in which I gain news on Obama are trustworthy news sites such as CNN or BBC. Also, Obama’s official website is a regular following.

It came as a surprise to me when I heard that a book was to be published revealing the unexamined agendas of Obama’s campaign. An article entitled “Book to ‘dish dirt’ on Obama” was published in the Herald Sun dated June 24 2008 reporting the publication.

The article was about David Fressodo, a conservative journalist and his penning of a book entitled ‘The Case against Barack Obama’. Fressodo penned a similar book on John Kerry four years ago which was said to be a contribution to Kerry’s downfall. Marjory Ross, president of the publishing company of the book, claimed that the country needed to get a clear and honest view of Obama which is what the book is offering (Herald Sun, 2008).

Do persuasive publications on Barack Obama sway his supporters?

The Issue of Media Manipulation

The publication of this book leads to essential issues of publication and media. How do we avoid being manipulated by the media? To what extent do we believe what we read?

Firstly, one must always remember to view the source of the media material being consumed in order to guarantee its credibility. As Giles and Snyder (1999, pp.9) mentioned, the absence of standards and gatekeepers especially in cyberspace have expanded the use of unnamed sources.

Secondly, one must always be critical and analytical when consuming news as some writers are willing to taint a prominent name for personal glory. As Putnis & Petelin (1996, pp.237) justified, some writers deliberately break or manipulate conventions to achieve a particular impact.

In my opinion, learning to be a literate and critical consumer is vital in order to avoid being sucked into webs of deception. The media industry often claim innocent error due to deadline pressures are reasons for inaccuracies (Parenti, 2001), but we have to delve into the ownership and genuine agendas of the industry in order to sum a reasoning.

As we have no authority or power to control what is being regulated and published by the media, being a mature consumer is key to gaining if not the absolute – almost the absolute truth.
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References

Book to ‘dish dirt’ on Obama 2008, Herald Sun, viewed 8 November 2008, http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,23913043-5005961,00.html

Giles, R, Snyder, R 1999, What’s fair?: the problem of equity on journalism, Transaction Publishers, United States of America

Parenti, M 2001, Monopoly media manipulation, Political Archive, viewed 8 November 2008, http://www.michaelparenti.org/MonopolyMedia.html

Putnis, P, Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: Principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney