Media Impact on People's Thoughts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Media Impact on People's Thoughts - Essay Example This was due to the largely favorable presentation of the war in the media, such as the images of Saddam’s statue being pulled down, and President Bush stepping off a plane to a banner proclaiming victory in Iraq. Selective reporting, biased reporting, or the manner in which certain issues are highlighted while others are glossed over can elevate or diminish the significance of an issue in the mind of the public. During the initial weeks of the war, there was widespread media coverage of President Bush giving pep talks at military locations and negative reaction to the war was sparingly reported. The opposition of France and other European countries to Iraq was sparingly reported while those in the Senate who opposed the war received no media coverage. The public also had the image of the prior Iraq war in mind, which was concluded quickly and painlessly and expected the second war to follow the same path. However, media images in America began to change as the war continued. For example, one local television news program aired a fifteen-minute segment each evening when it focused on the body of one dead soldier in a brief eulogy. The persistent images of dead American soldiers presented every night have subtly influenced public opinion so that the once favorable opinion of the public has been altered. By the end of 2003, polls were showing public support down to 50% from 70%. The impact of the images of the dead is evident from the words of former tanker Ed Collins, now 82, who says, â€Å"When is it going to stop? We’re losing a lot of youngsters.† The perception that lives are being lost is brought forcefully into the public consciousness through the personalized eulogy for each soldier presented in TV programs such as those mentioned above. According to polling experts, Americans are more sensitive to casualties in this Iraq war because they see no vital interests at stake to  justify the deaths which are taking place.