What are airwaves? These are the radio frequencies that broadcasters use. A more broad definition of public airwaves would be the invisible world in which all forms of communication take place; such as the internet, telephone lines, radio frequencies, and more. The fact is that these airwaves are public property. This is why government regulatory administrations like the Federal Communications Commission exists. Political Campaigns are one of the largest expenditures when it comes to media advertisement space. These campaign advertisements when executed effectively are often then mentioned in news and blogs across the globe. These messages shape elections, legislation, and mass political movements, but who exactly controls them? The messages presented by their declarants are often so misrepresented by media gatekeepers that at the end of the day, they are the sole part with any claim to control. Media shapes the public opinion and they capitalize on those trying to buy but a piece of that notice.
Now that we have established that media gatekeepers hold public opinion power over political offices, lets look at what they can do with that power. Is their presentation of material biased? Do the media outlets have personal investment in key legislation? How does this effect the message they project into the public opinion? This is what I would like to research. How deep does the ownership go? At what point can we separate the message into what the media wants and what the public needs? My hope is that a line is drawn somewhere that they hold themselves true to. We shall see what I find.
I can't wait to see what you find. Great subject! I'm serious when I say I would love to read it when you are finished. The subject of politics is so vast and interesting- it's a great question asking, "who really controls it?" Another great question is... if it's public domain, how does the public take it back? Or do they really want to? How did this get taken away from us? It just makes my mind buzz with questions... ANSWER ME OBIWAN KENOBI! YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your subject very much but I do not want to completely ruin what direction you are going but try to help. It does not make sense that you state everything as radio waves when in reality it does not work that way. Internet lines are cables that run MILES and MILES streching around the globe such as telephone wires. Not everything is radio waves I think what you mean by this is the electrical signals in those cables you are calling them radio waves but they are not. Also I disagree that these "airwaves" are public property, when big companies such as Google send data to their own DataCenters that information is considered their own but NSA has been stealing it which lead Google to start to encrypt their data to protection themselves and ultimately the general public in which they get the information from. I think you are on a strong question but make it clear about your radio waves statement. Good job so far and I enjoy someone in the class is doing politics. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI think it’d be really neat to look into how the division of public and private spheres exists in new media. Who really has the power on the internet; the public/consumers, private companies, or the government? Has this changed? Is it likely to change in the near future?
ReplyDeletegreat looking essay. i believe that the madia gatekeepers of which you speak have an agenda similar to the candidate that they give the most air time to. for that you can look into what political party they support. lobbyist groups and so on and so fourth. ive always wanted to know who (for a lack of a better phrase) owns the internet? to me its this entity, all knowing and forever expanding, from basic facebook usage to the dark depths of, well...everything else. God speed
ReplyDeleteThere are times when it seems society controls the media. While it certainly does, it's necessary to determine who controls society? These media gatekeepers you discuss are those who shape the opinions and perceptions of societal members. So, in a way, they indirectly control society but directly manipulate members of society. I'm sure whatever truth you regarding the matter will be really interesting to read about.
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