In Canada, new things happen all
around us every day. In order to keep up to date on what is happening in our
city, most individuals turn to news casts. Some television shows such as The
Daily Report and The Rick Mercer Report are not regular news broadcasts. These
shows tend to act as a fake news programs. These shows rely on comedy in recent
news stories and political figures to deliver the news. The question is, are
satirical news reports a mainstream form of culture jamming? In the text, it is
explained that “the objectives of culture jamming often include consciousness
raising (raising awareness of social and political issues) as well as using the
media to criticize and dominant culture” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 2012, pg.
214). Based on this quote in our textbook, I believe that satirical news
reporting is a mainstream form of culture jamming. Though these television
shows may not be entirely focused on explaining what has happened in current
events, they are bringing awareness to the situation. Culture jamming is
described as raising awareness of social and political issues, but “it can also
reference a more playful, spontaneous form of improvising and engaging with the
media, as when musicians jam together” (O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 2012, pg.
213). By using humour to explain current events, this not only brings
popularity to the television show but it also brings awareness to those who do
not enjoy watching the news. Comedy is liked by many societies because it can give
you a good laugh and make you feel good about yourself. These points above
prove that satirical news reports are a mainstream form of culture jamming in
our society.
I agree
with the notion that reportage such as this are useful to the public sphere.
The public sphere is where we discuss and debate issues of social concern. Satirical
news gives individuals a new perspective of current events. This gives us a
diversity of opinion which can be useful in our culture. Instead of only
watching news casts that give one sided opinions, we are able to see the events
through a different light. These reports may bring more awareness to the public
sphere because instead of only noticing the negatives in news reports, we are
able to laugh at the humour of the situations.
O'Shaugnessy,
M., & Stadler, J. (2012). Media and Society (Fifth ed., pp. 184-185).
South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
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