News Is It Prime Time Or All The Time?

News

Is it prime time or all the time?

Media influence has become a social mainstay in contemporary society. Not only do newspapers, radio, television and magazines strive to inform and entertain, but they also hold a significant power over what people believe. Since its inception, the standard of media presence was long a tool of integrity and fairness. Newspersons and entertainers may have embellished here and there in order to put more flavor into a certain piece or program, but for the most part, there was a distinct significance to an inherently honesty portrayal. In the vast dimensions of the world of journalism, it is the bread and butter of the everyday broadcast. Hardball with Chris Matthews could be one of the most obvious illustrations of a controversial news show for the media. Not only does it consist of detailed analyzing over politics and politicians, but also of interviews and debates with media connectors such as New York Times journalists and columnists, and attention cravers in general willing to lend their opinion in order to create controversy on the show. This host often takes up character like in sitcoms.

While a report's main focus is to sum up the days events, relating in general to politics in the United States, opinions are discussed. And although this should not be what audiences focus on, it is. The influence of Journalists to the TV audience is inevitable. Although they present up-to-date news, their input and analytical perspective is what people tend to capture and convey to the public. In a sense, they create a world of news and controversy through their words. Moreover, Chris Matthews does just this in his nightly program of fiery debates and overviews of the day's political spectrum. Through inside sources, factual debating, gaining trust from the audience and revealing specific opinion, he influences audiences nationwide, and in a way, takes over the minds of the audiences and the media, while still being a journalist and, at the end of the day, just "doing his job".

Every night at 7pm ET on MSNBC, many around the continental United States tune in to watch Hardball with Chris Matthews, as opposed to the flipside comical shows such as Friends or Seinfeld. Most who choose to watch this news show want to be caught up on the day's activities, relating mainly to politics and foreign negotiations, as well as the day's relevant affairs. After personally tuning in to watch on Monday night, I was able to capture how this journalist creates his broadcast. He begins by detailing the daily news and his opinion on each matter is quickly given. He then brings in the sources. These are of key importance for two main reasons. For one, they are usually inside sources to the lives of politicians and what really occurs behind the White House doors. But also, they become sources to the public. Someone who they can say must know what they are talking about since they are part of our community, yet are involved one way or another with the president. "All news shows, in a sense, are re-creations in that we hear and see on them are attempts to represent actual events, and are not the events themselves."(Goshgarian, p.190) For example, when President Bush revealed the Budget Plan for 2005, following his State of the Union Address, Chris Matthews had his sources ready to speak. These included Senator of New Jersey, Jon Corzine, as well as the writers for New York Times and The Post. First, they give a brief recap of his plan. This included factual evidence such as tax cuts for education, and no insinuation of money towards Social Security or Medicaid. They also discussed the fact that the cost of the war in Iraq was not given. This is information that the public wants to know. However, it is the opinion that is given from these sources that the audience tuned in will probably retell to their co-workers and family members the following day. In continuance to the example: Bush did not want to discuss his budget for Iraq, which prompts most to believe he may be hiding something. But if he insists that he has nothing to hide, and then why not tell the public?

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