Media Persuasion

The discussion this week opened my eyes not only to the bias that can be found in media but also to my own bias when examining what I am watching.   The ad chosen to show bias in advertisement was one from the Yes on 8 campaign in 2008.  This ad used fear and misinformation to sway undecided voters to their side and was successful because of the political climate at the time. Many did not understand what the proposition truly proposed and relied heavily on what they were told to make an "informed" decision. 

The interesting part of this assignment was how my own bias started to shine through in my writing.  My experience led me to the ad I found because of the obvious bias I witnessed during that campaign and I overlooked how my personal feelings affected my view of persuasion and bias in media. As someone who has worked in the entertainment field, I forgot to look outside of my own expereinces and instead into the bias of the field itself.  Movie trailers are a great example of how persuasion in media can be effective in drawing in an audience.  

As a media psychologist, examining how persuasion and bias is present in everyday forms of media is important.  During an election periods, bias is easy to detect but not so much other times of the year.  Using my own experiences to draw on observations will be important but I will also have to learn how to set my personal bias aside for the good of the audience I am presenting or consulting with.

Image References

Boyle, A. (2009, September 24). Independent movie trailer reviews to premier Friday - Raleigh Indie Movie | Examiner.com. Welcome to Examiner.com | Examiner.com. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/independent-movie-trailer-reviews-to-premier-friday

Patel, N. (2011, November 16). 6 Ways to Be More Persuasive With Social Media. Social Media News and Web Tips – Mashable – The Social Media Guide. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/11/16/social-media-persuasive/