The Next Time You Watch the News

Did you ever consider that your personal opinion on a subject can be made known by your personal expressions, even when you fight hard to be objective? Or that a picture can indeed speak a thousand words but not necessarily the truth to those who see it? Neil Postman and Steve Powers collaborated in writing a great essay named, “The Bias of Language, the Bias of Pictures,” that touches on the subject of how the language and pictures chosen in newscast programs can be misleading. The reason for their essay is so their readers will be well equipped every time they watch the news and so they will not be misled and can defend themselves from misinformation.

Postman and Powers describe the differences between language, stationary pictures and moving pictures. Language, they claim, can be very tricky because no two people will use the same words to describe the same event. So beware when watching the news because it is not necessarily object information. The newscaster may try to remain objective and choose words that will not influence the viewer in a certain way but that is almost impossible. Language, they argue, can be used to describe, evaluate and infer. “This suggests that even when attempting to use purely descriptive language, a journalist cannot avoid expressing an attitude about what he or she is saying (Postman & Powers, 2008).” A stationary picture or single picture, on the other hand, can also present problems when used to describe an event. One of the big problems, as Postman and Powers put it is, “…single pictures, speak only in particularities. Their vocabulary is limited to concrete representation (Postman & Powers, 2008).” A single picture needs language to bring the story alive and what if the language used is not the truth? Then this single picture is misrepresented and can be misleading. Finally, Moving pictures can be very captivating to the viewer that is why they are used more often than not. Moving pictures can create drama, show expressions and display violence. They are favored by newscast shows since with a little editing they can put together a small story without having to use too many words.

Language and pictures as described by Postman and Powers are important in the overall point of the essay because they will help their readers to become good interpreters of the truth. The point of the essay is to teach people how to watch the news and not be seduced or influenced by misinformation. The writers’ main claim about today’s newscasts is that they are very symbolic.  News shows are introduced with music; you can hear teletype machines in the background and see a world clock. Newscasts are almost like a theater and they describe the anchor as the main host. This set helps to set the mood and make the viewer believe that the stories being told are very important. Newscasts are not coherent at all and the anchor or reporters can never really get into the underlying truths of the stories but only to the surface. Newscasts today, as stated by the writers, are aimed for everyone in hope that their stories will attract all viewers. I agree with Postman and Powers that it is important to learn how to interpret the news. What is important and what is “fluff” as they described it. Learning the differences is important if you truly want to get true information and not simply be entertained.

Works Cited

Postman, N., & Powers, S. (2008). "The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures." In L. Gray-Rosendale, Pop Perspectives Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture (pp. 481-489). New York: McGraw-Hill.