Media Challenge: Post #2

Having studied the presentation of specific news stories more in depth over the past few days, I have noticed another trend in selection, framing, and narrative techniques. Though media outlets and producers create stories based on biased motivations and ideals, I have noticed that the aforementioned techniques are used to encourage the public to identify with national stories. When presenting stories, news anchors and reporters often use the words "we," "our," and "us."

For example, in a report on the Fed's recent activities on CNN today, reporters urged the public to understand the Fed's actions as they effect "our" pocket books, "our" families, and "our" lives. Additionally, a follow-up story in which President Obama repudiated Donald Trump's accusations that he is not a native-born American, the President argued that "we" cannot advance if we buy into such accusations, and "we" cannot be distracted by such conspiracies. In both examples, the selection of such wording was used to foster a sense of community and shared nationality among the American people. Despite a miniscule likelihood that most Americans will meet each other, national news producers attempt to foster the idea of a close, shared community in the United States in which ideas, beliefs, experiences, and desires are shared.