Stem Cell Research
The Different Media Outlets
Journalism is commonly known as the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Because of today’s technology, as well as significant advances in societal media, journalists are now able to report such events, issues and trends via way more outlets than just an old fashioned newspaper. The Internet is drastically monopolizing technology today. As a result, most people are searching the web for information, and posting on the web to relay that information, as well as their personal opinions.
Recently, Stem Cell Research has become a worldwide ethical debate revolving around the creation, usage and destruction of a human stem cell. Scientists have speculated that stem cell research may be the key to potentially re-harvest organs, and even cure life-threatening diseases. On the other hand, some find stem cell research to be an extreme ethical dilemma. Because of this, millions of opinions on the heated topic have erupted through various media outlets such as blogs, television, and magazines.
Internet blogs are a different type of journalism. They are maintained by an individual who is consistently updating their commentary and descriptions of certain events. One media outlet used to help portray the current controversy of stem cell research is the, “Stem Cell Blog.”
The most effective part of this site is in regards to the fact that the entire home page is devoted to explaining what exactly stem cell research is. Most people are not familiar with the issue, and thus formulate thoughts based on information that is either not accurate or not even true. Having background information, as well as an understanding for such a worldwide topic, is almost imperative for having personal opinions on it. Structurally, the blog has two tabs. The first consisting of background information, and the second, articles. There is a column at the right side, which continuously has updated articles on Stem Cell Research. Contextually speaking, this media outlet is able to compile first hand sources about the progress and set backs on Stem Cell Research. Rather than searching through multiple news outlets, the blog has everything accumulated in one place, making this outlet more informational, as well as beneficial. What makes this blog unique from all others is that it is ‘neutral.’ It doesn’t formulate a specific opinion or stance the way a movie review blog would. It strictly relays facts and articles, without displaying an opinion. As a result of not sharing personal views, a more powerful impact is being left (Absent Action) as well as the audience reading from an unbiased source.
In addition to the blog, we tried to find other outlets that were not as simple as a magazine report. As a result, we came across a public service announcement.
In this Public Service Announcement (PSA) for Stem Cell Research, Michael J Fox, a known actor for his work in the Back to the Future Trilogy and Spin City, discusses the necessity of Stem Cell Research in addition to the potential life changing benefits. Because Fox is surviving with Parkinson’s Disease, he has become a big advocate for the progression of Stem Cell Research. If we analyze this clip, the argument is apparent. The PSA begins with Fox speaking poorly about former Senator Tallian and highly of Claire McCaskill because of her promise to further Stem Cell Research. Fox encourages and instills hope for people who have been affected by diseases that could benefit from the advancements of this research if McCaskill was elected. He ends the statement by referring to himself as a normal American, and we are all one in the same. The Michael J fox foundation created this video with hopes of generating a specific outcome: choosing the ‘right’ side.
Structurally, Fox is being shot while he is suffering a clear outbreak of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. This is a bold move by the producers. The idea is to have the audience sympathize and for some, empathize, for Fox, and understand that the advancements of Stem Cell Research could physically better Fox as well as many others. Fox’s disability further extends his connection to the US population. The ‘celebrity appeal’ shows that anyone can be affected by a severe illness. The fact that Claire McCaskill uses Fox is another argument that can be debated. Can famous people be good representatives for campaign tactics? The fan base and supporters of Fox will be in favor of his opinions, and thus in favor of McCaskill. As Fox ends his statement he pronounces that by voting in one state, an impact on Americans across the globe can be made. This media impact is drastically different than others. It is bias. It is persuasive, and more importantly, it is real. The video shows viewers a real account of what stem cell research can achieve, where as other media outlets might only say it rather than visually expressing it.
A third news outlet would be an article found from Time Magazine.
This article is structurally efficient. In other words, the layout of the article is very consistent with the extent of the actual topic. The reason for this is because the 764 words of this news piece are almost evenly distributed from top to bottom. Its organization makes it easier for readers to follow the flow of information. The author spends two paragraphs introducing a real life example of Representative Dana Rohrabacher to give readers an idea of what stem cell research can achieve for medical purposes. Consequently, a major portion of this news piece is discussing the controversy over stem cell research. Around 76% of this article is focused on the controversy, which makes it obvious how much emphasis the author put on the controversial nature of this issue. Since it’s a news issue, there isn’t much reference that is found in this article. All we can see here is one quotation the author took from the New York Times.
Contextually, this article starts with an example of a beneficiary of stem cell research. This laid the foundation for why the research is actually controversial. The author mentioned that Representative Rohrabacher was a supporter of restricting stem cell research and later on he changed his position. By giving out an example of a single person’s change of position on stem cell research is really effective at expressing how debatable this topic is among the public. After introducing the degree of controversy, the author points out the center point of the debate, which is how to define when a human being’s inception occurs. The author then explained the uses of stem research and which embryos did not have awareness. After defining the central debate over stem cell research, the author provided explanation on which embryos were used and if they had awareness. Fundamentally, the author is proving that the cells being used are not human beings, which eventually counter-strike on the criticism of stem cell research.
As a team, we compared and contrasted our three media outlets as well as found several clear relations to what has been discussed in class. News and information can be found everywhere. Each specific current event or news story has various types of media outlets to relay imperative information to the public. We live in a fast paced world, where people do not have time to sit down and read the morning newspaper. The creation of public service announcements, commercials, and other printed advertisements are quick ways for an argument to be made. One of our media sources is a public service announcement and campaign ad combined into one media source. This type of media is designed to plug an idea into the audience quickly and effectively. These announcements are short and direct; they pinpoint the key idea, which they want their audience to attain.
In relation to class and our discussion on the Hegelian/Rankean theories, our media sources display the ‘politics of representation’. The media has an agenda in which each media source has a definite ‘structure’ or ‘purpose’ that they want the public to follow. As the audience, it is our job to ‘read’ and to decide whether or not we accept what the news has to offer. Often the media’s job is to influence us to choose the ‘right’ information. In reference to stem cell research two of our media sources (the Time Magazine article and the PSA) have a definite side on the issue; they side with the benefits of stem cell research and give concrete explanations for it. The main goal of the media is to inform. Our final source does not choose a side but remains neutral and explains what stem cell research does, allowing us, the audience, to choose for ourselves the ‘right’ side. As the audience and docile bodies, we have the power and agency to decide what to take in, choose what to read and watch, and ultimately decide which direction we want to be persuaded in.
As we discussed in class, we are really trying to get history right. There are no truths, just perceptions of what people see and believe. Because we found three different outlets that offer different opinions, it is unclear what the actual truth is. By not having a clear answer or truth, society is actually perceived as being more real. It is not so much the specific dates, facts, and people. Rather, it is the significance: how the outlet as well as the way the information is portrayed, affects people. The reason why there are so many media outlets is because forty years from now, a select few of them are going to be the way we see the past. The Stem Cell Blog has a large, indirect, relation to what we have discussed in lecture. This media outlet is virtually neutral. It is more explanatory than opinionated. As a result, it corresponds with Aristotle’s, “absent action: if you show it, it is not powerful.” In other words, less detail is more powerful. The blog informs readers but doesn’t attempt to persuade them. The news articles posted give readers an option to decide for themselves what they want to read, as well as believe.
The Public Service Announcement we found seems to have a correlation with the concept of ‘perceptual psychology.’ The image that you have or something you see is the majority in your mind. By visually proving to audiences what Stem Cell Research can do to help Michael J Fox, a belief is almost being ‘implanted’ in ones mind. Ninety percent of our perception of the world comes from what we know about the past. If we see a PSA or read a blog about Stem Cell Research, and then 6 months later, the topic is brought upon us again, we seemingly have the images in our head from what we saw in the past, which help formulate our own personal views and opinions. It is essentially the concept of intertextuality. We see everything in our world through different lenses and texts, even genres: various types of films that audiences and filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions. One question discussed in class was, what is reality? Reality is our perception of the world. It is how each individual looks at society. Because there are hundreds of thousands of news and media outlets, there are also hundreds and thousands of perceptions of reality. That’s culture; the fact that reality to one person is different to another, just as one media outlets story can mean one thing to someone and a completely different thing to another.
By Rebecca Myhre, Adam Hirsch, and Gavin Zhang
Stem cell research is a big break through with science creation and most controversial because people believe it is morally wrong. My sister, who is a RN, and I were just recently talking about this the other day because she was telling me how a man was able to create and clone his kidney. The kidney was relatively small of course but overall stem cells was the key for making it happen and he actually created a kidney using stem cells. Unfortunately I do not know enough information on stem cell research to elaborate on it but overall we both saw it as AMAZING yet to what extent can this strategy be used and abused by people. We can't clone an organ and expect it to work the same because when you look at the sheep Dolly who was cloned she was not like the sheep she was cloned from. Great job!
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