Appearing on five Sunday morning TV news talk shows, President Barack Obama will put the finishing touches on what journalists have dubbed the Obabarama by being the only guest on Monday’s late-night David Letterman Show.
Will this media blitz, primarily dealing with health care, work? If so, how and why?
“Looking back we can see how indirectly we know the environment in which nevertheless we live,” wrote Walter Lippmann in his 1921 text Public Opinion. “We can see that the news of it comes to us now fast, now slowly; but that whatever we believe to be a true picture, we treat as if it were the environment itself.”
“News and truth are not the same thing,” Lippmann cautions. “The function of news is to signalize an event, the function of truth is to bring to light the hidden facts, to set them into relation with each other, and make a picture of reality on which [people] can act.”
Will Obama’s television appearances reform beliefs and reshape the environments people “believe to be a true picture”?
Only the polls will tell.
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Obama knows the power the media holds. The media won him the presidency so it is only right for him to use the media to plug his healthcare proposal. Obama is a well spoken president with a clear cut vision of what he wants America's healthcare future to look like. The media is merely his vehicle to get Americans on board with his healthcare push. Will it work? I believe he will sell Americans the dream of a more standardized healthcare program but only time will tell if the dream will turn out to be a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with Kross. When FDR took the presidency he began by initiating his fireside chats. He knew that the radio was the best way to get to citizens and to no surprise it worked. Just like Obama now uses the media to his advantage. I believe President Obama knows what he's doing and will be successful
ReplyDeleteIf anything, Obama is a genius when it comes to the media. Let us backtrack to the presidential campaigns. Obama recognized the potential in new media, and because of this, he had successfully reached out toward people through the use of Facebook, youtube, Myspace, and Twitter. Four extremely popular networking media that people seem to go on weekly and some daily. Twitter and Facebook are especially prime focus nowadays. If you look, advertisements for books and movies are using facebook and twitter to get information out there.
ReplyDeleteBacktrack even further to the Kennedy/Nixon campaign. What was the advantage Kennedy had over Nixon during the presidential debates? He recognized new media and used television broadcasting to his advantage. Obama's keen insight on the strenght of the media is quite similiar to the insight of Kennedy first taking note of new media power.
Obama's blitz on the morning shows being a success? Perhaps. David Letterman late night show is a very popular show so many viewers will be watching it, more than likely there will be more than normal. However, making an appearance on the show doesn't necessarily mean Obama will shed some light on his plans. People will see him and hear what he has to say and will be satisfied to hear anything mentioned at all about the Health Care plan even if Obama plays with language enough where he gives us little to no information on what progress is being made.
'Change' as Obama campaign logo promised, doesn't come so easily. There also isn't a promise that change will necessarily be in everyone's best interests.
One of Obama’s main strengths is his public speaking. Kross's said it well, "Obama knows the power of the media." People find him both intriguing and appealing. As Zach mentions earlier, “he has reached out toward people using the extremely popular Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and Twitter.” All of this media attention should give the public an opportunity to question the President and get answers to many of their concerns. “News and truth are not the same thing," Lippmann cautioned, "The function of news is to signalize an event, the function of truth is to bring to light the hidden facts …to make a picture of reality on which people can act.”
ReplyDeleteWhen Obama appeared on Letterman he was the first-ever sitting US President to visit the Late Show. He was quite humorous, teasing that he came to see the “heart shaped potato” and joking that he was “black before the election.” He was also reassuring when he commented that the, “stimulus worked as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding…we will not recover overnight.” He recognized that people are still having a tough time but acknowledged that, “the US economy is dynamic...it is improving although employment lags.” He mentioned that FDR was called a socialist in his time and people were yelling at JFK too. He stated that, “30 million Americans are without health insurance, and for the 90% of the Americans with insurance, premiums have gone up thirty percent over the last ten years - even though inflation was negative.”
Zach states, “making an appearance on the show doesn’t necessarily mean Obama will shed some light on his plans.” I agree because I am not so sure that he did “shed any light.” In light of the recent parody aired October 7th on Saturday Night Live, "Obama doing nada, nothing,” I think many people would also agree.
Obama said we are all “scared about the devil we don’t know,” and this is certainly true. People need to recognize that change will take time. However, I am not so sure that all of these appearances helped “reform beliefs” or gave people a “true picture.” They may, in fact, have actually risked overexposure on his part. Only time will tell is undeniable.
Let's not forget the forces Obama is up against in this media battle.
ReplyDeleteThe insurance and drug companies that are quite happy with current system have proven themselves to be quite adept at using media to funnel public opinion towards their version of the true picture. These are the people that sell Ritalin and Lypozene. Let's keep that in mind.
While Obama has proven himself to be the most media savvy politician at the moment, The PR and advertising folks employed by United Health, Pfizer, and the gang are the real pros. They've already convinced a good portion of the country that healthcare reform is a code for "we're going to kill your grandma and put you on a waiting list to see the death panel."
I don't know about the rest of the citizenry, but once I've been convinced someone is out to hurt my Nana,it's time to go to war. I'm no longer interested in what they have to say.
Even many of those who haven't concluded that Obama is a socialist/communist/ ultra-liberal dictator are concerned with the potential cost of a public plan. 10,000,000,000,000.00 is a pretty scary number to even gaze at. I wonder who calculated that figure?
The anti-Obamacare message has been in full swing on TV, radio, and the Web for months. They have seized the offensive.
It's hard to fathom how even a large scale media blitz can hope to stem the tide of such an emotionally charged opposition to any kind of bill Congress may pass under Obama.
It's also entirely possible that the president already knows this battle is lost. From here on out it's all about damage control. He needs to show his voters that he's trying to get something done.
Even if he still plans to rally public support for a bill through his media presence, Obama faces an uphill battle to stop the bleeding.
I agree, along with many other people that President Obama has a way with the media. He knows that it is the key to getting people to get on board with his heath care policy and getting everyone of all ages involved. He is getting through to people on so many different levels. By using sites such as facebook, twitter, and myspace, for the first time the President has been able to reach children, teenagers, young adults, older adults, people of all ages. I think that by Obama getting so involved with the media he is making an effort and using the present day tactics to get peoples attention. I think its a great idea to get everyone involved. The media is a genius way to get people involved.
ReplyDelete