It is often times very difficult to decipher why you are watching the news cast that you are. Maybe you are watching a local burglary, yet on that same day two people were killed in a car crash. So who decides which story goes in front of the public? Good question. To me, people who decide what go in the news are the people that go to school, get an education in broadcast journalism, and go out into the world and utilize their education. However, I still think the question of why are some things broadcasted over others is a great, somewhat mysterious, question. Because there are so many things that go on in our fast paced world yet no one ever hears about them because the media chooses something else to show us. I think that it is the media's way of swaying our thoughts and opinions in the ways that they want us to. It is up for you the watcher to form and make your own thoughts and opinions, regardless of what you are shown on television.

The whole statement on representing different interests of people of color is a bit confusing to me...Just because you aren't the same color as someone doesn't mean you dont have the same interest as someone. Yes a black person might get tired of watching an all white news channel but of all of the news channels I've ever watched I've always seen white, black, asian, etc. I don't see a problem with having an all black news station as long as there is no problem with having an all white news station. It is a two way street. In order to increase the mainstream medias interest I think that they should take polls on their websites of what kind of news people are wanting to see. They should also have a hotline for people to call when something newsworthy happens so people can call it in and suggest it to the stations. That way a variety of people will call in with different angles of stories.

The war, which I am assuming we're talking about 9/11 since thats what pretty much the whole video was about, was originally reported through newscasts as a terrorist attack on our nation. It showed horrible clips of the twin towers and of the city itself. The news, furthermore, the reporters, instilled a very strong sense of patriatism to the nation. The video talked about how some reporters were wearing American flag pins on their lapels. But overall they sense of unity and patriotism increased drastically.

I know that recently I have been hearing a lot about proposition eight. I don't know that there have been social protests about it but there has definitely been a lot of news coverage on it. At one point, there was also a lot of news coverage on people who wanted the war in Iraq to end. I have seen protestors for that on tv multiple times. I think that if the story supports what the news cast is reporting, then they will show it, but if it doesnt, then they probably won't.

From all that I have read and seen on the media and the Civil Rights Movement I feel like the media intensified the whole ordeal. All the way from sit ins, to freedom writers, the media was there to capture a large majority of all of the different incidents that went on. I feel that all of these graphic shots of the events had to of had some sort of impact on the public. I think the impact that the media had on the Civil Rights was probably negative and positive. I think it portrayed it in a positive aspect because it showed the President signing off on bills to try to reform and improve what was taking place, but in a negative aspect it showed all of the horrible things taking place at that time.

As talked about above, I can't quite say who sets the news agenda. People that set it use things that they like, that they care about and that will support what they are trying to say. Therefore, if they do not care about some story that meant the world to someone else, that person is going to get mad and/or offended. But with a world of billions of people, not everyone is always going to get to see and hear what they want. Therefore, if racial minorities feel inferior in the news, then more power to them to make their own news station. I think its a great idea. As for the war, I definitely think that more aspects of the war need to be shown. We are always shown the horrible negative events and images that are going on instead of the positive things. However, I definitely think we do need to see the negative aspect of it to get the reality of what our soldiers are doing over there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGKBW0KlAcw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-B3bMrL4bc