The latest..Virtual Communities...Fox News Documentary

Last week we discussed "What is truth?" We debated whether or not virtual communities can exist. I took a stance that said they can exist, but they are lesser in value than our real-life communities and are often an extension of these communities.

Moving into this week I will prepare to write another essay and post it on here about the topics that have been discussed these past two weeks.

I just began the work for this week and watched a required movie called "Outfoxed" about Fox News. It was an eye opener. I highly recommend EVERYONE watch it.

The documentary explores just how off Fox's slogan, "Fair and Balanced", really is.

As one of the commentators on the documentary explained, Fox’s slogan is one of the greatest marketing slogans of our time. They put on a façade that they are ideal journalists reporting fair, balanced, and investigative stories, allowing their viewers to decide their own stance on the issues.

Unfortunately, Fox does everything but report fair and balanced news (if you want to call their stories news). Growing up, my family never watched Fox news, and I was taught that their news was unreliable, but I was still shocked watching “Outfoxed”. More than shocked, I was outraged because the media has an obligation to the public to report the truth as much as they can. Opinions are subjective, and as the documentary highlighted, Fox blurs news with opinions making it hard for uninformed viewers to decipher the facts.
One of the commentators also states that his problem with Fox is not that they are purely and obviously right wing, but that they market themselves are being “fair and balanced” tricking their viewers.

What upsets me the most is that there are people who grow up in rural areas in red states who will never be fully informed or educated about our government because they watch Fox and listen to people like Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh.

I’m not saying it is wrong for commentators to be biased and offer right wing opinions. I’m saying it’s wrong to report opinions as news and trick and deceive your viewers. Even though I personally do not agree with them, every American has a right to their own political opinion. However, it seems that Fox does not value this right.

On a side note, I watched the documentary twice just to make sure I didn’t miss or misunderstand anything. My stomach churned both times I watched it, especially when Bill O’Reilly came on. If I may offer an opinion of my own, Bill O’Reilly is the farthest thing from a good journalist, and an example of what a reporter ought not to be.

Internet Flaming and Computer Mediated Communication

In early January 2010, Phoebe Prince, a high school student in Western Massachusetts committed suicide after allegedly being bullied on the internet. Unfortunately, this story is not unique. Megan Meier committed suicide in 2006 after a classmate’s mother posted demeaning comments, posing as a young boy on MySpace, and in 2007 at least four teen suicides were attributed to cyber bullying (Cyberbullying, 2006).

Gus A. Sayer, the superintendent of South Hadley High School where Prince attended, said this of the bullying:

“The real problem now is the texting stuff and the cyber-bullying; some kids can be very mean towards one another using that medium. Apparently the young woman had been subjected to taunting from her classmates, mostly through the Facebook and text messages…’’ (McCabe, 2010)

Statistics from the United States Department of Justice in 2006 said that one in seventeen children reported being threatened or harassed while using the internet (Web safety 4 kids statistics, 2006). Research from the National Crime Prevention Council in 2006 found that four in ten teens reported being cyber bullied, and that the majority of incidences were reported by females. These cases can range from a persistent unwanted chat buddy to threats of bodily harm (ncpc.org).These aggressive online acts are a 21st century problem that we have little experience with since the internet is relatively new.

Another term for aggressive acts online is flaming (Thurlow, 2004). As cyber bullying and flaming continue to become more prevalent, researchers and communication experts have struggled to develop a concrete theory as to why it is so easy for someone to guiltlessly act out online.

Some researchers and theorists believe that communication on the internet is not as rich as face to face communication; therefore it is not often accepted as “real” communication. Rather, it is seen as pseudo communication that has less rules and etiquette to follow. Some argue that the lawlessness of the internet encourages guiltless bullying and extreme acts towards others.

Other researchers say that there is no one approach to explain why flaming occurs. They claim you must look at each situation individually, using a interactional-normative approach. By looking at each situation individually, they can determine different responses and interpretations of the message. Communication theorists, Andrew Flanagan and Patrick O’Sullivan (2003) cite these problems with current theories in their work on the subject, (1) ambiguity in conceptual definitions of flaming, (2) an overemphasis on message content versus message context, (3) an assumption that flaming behavior lacks clear functional value, and (4) a narrow view of flaming behavior as a strictly online phenomenon.

They conclude that online behavior depends on what each person considers a norm for communication. Moreover, that the internet has developed its own set of norms separate from what we consider normality of a face to face conversation. Flanagan and O’Sullivan then say that, these interactional norms that we function under on the internet serve as a guide not just to the formation of messages but also their interpretation by the receiver (Flanagan, 2003). They conclude by defining flaming as this:

“A message in which the creator/sender intentionally violates (negotiated, evolving, and situated) interactional norms and is perceived as violating those norms by the receiver as well as by third-party observers” (Flannagan, 2003)

By defining the problem researchers hope to find a solution for flaming. Once they know what flaming is, they can work towards ending cyber bullying, flaming, and other aggressive online acts. Until then, teens and children of this generation will deal with these problems, and more stories like Megan Meiers, and Phoebe Prince are likely to emerge.
 

Works Cited
Cyberbullying. (2006, November). Retrieved from http://www.makeadifferenceforkids.org/cyberbullying.html

McCabe, K. (2010, January 24). Teen’s suicide prompts a look at bullying. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2010/01/24/teens_suicide_prompts_a_look_at_bullying/

O'Sullivan, P.B. (2003). An Interactional reconceptualization of "flaming" . New Media and Society, 5. Retrieved from http://my.ilstu.edu/~posull/flaming.htm

Teens and cyberbullying-national crime prevention council. (2007, February 28). Retrieved from http://www.ncpc.org/resources/files/pdf/bullying/Teens%20and%20Cyberbullying%20Research%20Study.pdf

Thurlow, Crispin, Lengel, Laura, & Tomic, Alice. (2004). Computer mediated communication. Sage Publications Ltd.

Web safety 4 kids statistics. (2006, December). Retrieved from http://websafety4kids.org/Statistics.php

Introduction

I am currently enrolled in a class entitled "Social Dynamics of Communication Technology" in Gonzaga University's graduate program. The class began two weeks ago and since then I have been expanding my own thoughts about the internet and new social tools.

The professor has encouraged us to try blogging and post our assigned essay in a blog. I HAVE NEVER BLOGGED, nor did I ever think that I would blog. However as I continue to learn about the dynamics of internet socializing I decided it was time for me to discover what all the hype surrounding blogging was about.

I understand how important blogging has become in today's western societies. It gives people a place to share feelings, interests, and ideas. It allows others like them to find their blog and relate to everyday people. Blogging forums have also led to the development of a different kind of journalism (if you consider blogging a form journalism). As blogs have evolved it has become easier for people to share news, rumors, or gossip with whoever wishes to read them.

My first blog with be academic, focusing on the topics we are covering through this course. Who knows maybe after the class concludes I will continue to blog about each class I take!