Global News Agenda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global News Agenda - Essay Example News usually construct ‘them’ to show a fairer representation of those who are far in terms of culture or space and they include the neighbors abroad and the strangers living amongst them (Ginneken 1998). The news reports usually produce meanings which construct ideological representations of the different groups of people from different countries. Media usually report distant suffering in their news which brings about the construction of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. The language used in the news reports brings different meanings within the social context as to some the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ brings about negative values (Kamalipour and Snow 2004). Unprecedented censorship is also evident with how news is constructed. In most cases, the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ is created whenever there is suffering in the country or culture to be aired. The media creates ‘us’ versus ‘them’ in order to c reate specific subject position for both the spectators and suffers. The spectators ‘us’ may take the position of activists, philanthropists or even voyeurs while suffers ‘them’ take the position of a human being or abstract number. Theoretical perspectives will be used in the analysis and evaluation of how the news constructs a sense of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ between different nations. Agenda setting theory Agenda setting theory shows how the media highly affects the order of presentation in the news reports about events and issues in the minds of the public (Dearing and Roger 1996). Global news agenda is based on the construction of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. This theory also shows how the media had a high influence on the public by their ability to tell us on the important issues. The main aim of this theory is to create a public awareness and to show the salient issues created by the news media. Different aspects of the media are encompassed in this theory which shows different ways on how news is constructed. 1. Freedom of press and expression world wide Freedom of press helps the media in constructing ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Freedom of speech in Middle East is enshrined in article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR). It is also based on the UN treaty which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Magee 2002). Social solidarity is part of cosmopolitanism and it includes the bonds of mutual commitments based on more than similarities of pre-established identities. Social solidarity puts it clearly that all citizens are engaged in the making of a better future for everyone. Cosmopolitan explains how global media institutions have the power to create publics around the world as non-communitarian publics. Cosmopolitan is the willingness to relate with other people. The way media constructs news about distant suffering rarel y does it cultivate a cosmopolitan sensibility or a global public (Ginneken 1998). For example, airing news on how people are being maimed killed or burned or even tortured is the creation of cosmopolitan through the TV news where it creates a spectatorship of suffering to ‘us’ the viewers. Global news does not also overcome the