In this clip, they critique a Fox news clip of a panel discussing a Pew Study that found American society is shifting to women becoming the breadwinners in family households, and that has had a negative effect on children and marriage.
The Fox news clip starts off with Fox anchor Lou Dobbs introducing the topic of women becoming breadwinners in America, and refers to this as "concerning" and "troubling". The Fox lip then goes to another corespondent talking about the fact that something is going wrong in American society, and our children are doomed.
Another Fox correspondent goes on to talk about that fact that conservatives know science too, and uses that fact that males are dominant in the animal kingdom. Since males are dominate in the natural world, we are letting our society go to shambles.
This is obviously wrong. Roles of male and females vary by species. The Young Turks use many examples such as the Praying Mantis and Penguins. Female Praying Mantis often kill males after mating, and female Penguins are the ones that go out to get food, while the male penguin stays with the egg.
The first thing that I noticed about this Fox clip was the fact that this panel is made up of all dudes. Not one women is there to defend females' roles in society.
Besides the complete under-representation of women on this panel, I would also like to discuss the way the issue is framed.
The Young Turks mention framing in the beginning by talking about the way Lou Dobbs framed the issue by referring to the Pew Study findings as terrible. Right off the bat he framed the issue before even going into the panel.
So, what is framing and why does it matter? Framing is the selection of certain aspects of an issue and making them more prevalent. According to Robert Entman, framing can consists of four things, but not all. Those four things are: promotion of a problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation.
This Fox News clip included all of these, but I would like to focus on the part that the Young Turks mention, which is the way that the problem is defined right off the bat by using words like "concerning" and "troubling". He really didn't need to describe the issue in this way, bu the did, framing it in a away that set up the issue for the audience.
Framing maters because it shapes the way people view issues, and how those issues are talked about by the masses. If the public only sees frames put on by a certain mass media, that shapes the way views understand and attempt to resolve problems. It also is powerful in shaping opinions of people.
In a perfect world, the media would report on issues with dignity, but in Journalism the audience matters. News channels will frame issues in a way that they know their audience will agree with,
If I had a say, I would recommend stations report and practice Journalism the way it should be: with integrity. However, that would be a perfect world.
"The female is a complimentary role". It's hard not to be completely disgusted with some of the beliefs that are represented thorough modern media. A fundamental equality between men and women should not be a debate over who is more liberal or conservative, yet media outlets such as FOX News think differently. "What will the world do if women can make money?!?!?! The American way of life is coming to an end!!!" Sound like something you'd hear on FOX News? Integrity is certainly lacking, I agree.
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