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LadyEllen -> RE: Fox News anchors dumbing down for their audience (12/10/2009 8:00:31 AM)
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Commercial TV really is a simple business; what is most important is to attract the highest numbers of viewers possible so that advertisers will be more willing to part with money in greater amounts to advertise on your channel than any other's rival channel. To attract the highest numbers of viewers possible, one must tailor the content presented to the highest number of potential viewers.
Naturally in any population the number of well educated people, whose general and specific subject area knowledge, experiences, interpretations and expectations will be steered towards more complex subject matter, its comprehension, interpretation and discussion, will represent only a small fraction of the total population.
Such a small and elite fraction is not worth chasing in terms of generating mass audience interest, as compared to the remainder of the population which does not seek complex subject matter and does not like to be made to feel inadequate through its inability to comprehend and interpret such subject matter. Rather it seeks explanations of complex subject matter that it can readily relate to its experiences and expectations and comprehend and interpret such that it may take part in discussion. This is the proper functioning of mass audience TV news and documentary - to educate and to inform.
Where I believe many have gone wrong is in stepping over the line of explanation and interpretation of subject matter to enable mass discussion, into providing a biased explanation and interpretation of selective aspects of subject matter which provided by what may appear to be a voice of authority then limits and defines the ability of the mass audience to participate in discussion by essentially telling them what they need to think and believe, based on a restricted, and often one sided explanation of the subject matter.
All this may be interpreted as dumbing down for the audience and in some cases this would be accurate within the definitions and descriptions above.
But the most worrying aspect of it is not this but that there is an ancillary effect, whether intended or not, whereby the process works to dumb down the audience - essentially and effectively removing any aspiration or ability on their part to think about, interpret and comprehend what they are being told by the TV and more importantly, by any other source, such that they become reliant on being told what to think, how to interpret and comprehend.
This is most definitely not to educate or inform but to brainwash - and as time passes and the process strengthens and widens this will prove to be very dangerous indeed.
E
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