MSNBC and FOX are two news corporations that are completely different, and can spin and manipulate news stories with either a right or left-winged appeal. Both of these corporations take the plain reality of the story and put in opinions that appeal to a certain audience. I chose to watch the Bill O'Reiley factor from the FOX news network, and the Rachel Maddow show from the MSNBC news network. In order to see the different spins that these reporters put on a story, I decided to watch episodes from both networks that covered the same issue. The common theme from each episode was the network's response to the mosque that is being created yards away from the 9/11 ground zero.
The Rachel Maddow show decided to discuss the disgraceful Pastor that wanted to have a national Quran burning day. Maddow articulated that she and secretary of state Hillary Clinton were fearful that the Quran burning was going to result in a dangerous situation for our American troops that our posted in Muslim countries. In a speech made to the American public, Clinton approves the building of the mosque and told the American people to not watch media coverage of the pastor because it will bring more notice to this man, which is exactly what he wants. Maddow suggests using more speech to fight back against this pastor, and to show the Muslim communities that we support tolerance and the freedom of choice. Responsible Americans will create more speech that condemns the Pastor's doing, and that the Quran should not be burned as a response to the 0/11 attack.
The Bill O'Reiley to talk about Imam, the man who is behind the creation of the 9/11 Mosque. Although O'Reiley points out that Imam did make valid points and that his argument does not seem beligerent, he quickly starts to slam Imam for the remainder of the show. O'Reily argues that there are already many existing mosques in America, which shows that there is religious tolerance in America. Placing a mosque yards away from ground zero has created a controversey that is offensive towards grieving families that have lost loved ones from the 9/11 attack. He backs up his statement with pointing out that religious tolerance should swing both ways, and that Muslims do not show respect of tolerance for Americans. For example, the Muslims attacked America from the "word of allah", and furthermore, respect and acceptance should be earned by Muslims.
I thought that this was a great assignment to learn about how different news corporations can spin a story and shape how American form their opinion. Some news corporations are better than others, and the lesson I learned in this particular assignment is that you have to look at the facts and make a decision about an issue ON YOUR OWN. Because we live in a democratic society, we need to take on the responsibility to properly inform ourselves on issues, and not rely on political shows to tell us how we should or should not think. Although O'Reiley and Maddow both brought up valid points, their take on this matter was extremely subjective and did not show both sides of the issue.
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