LibGuides: Social Media, Mass Media & Politics: Media

Media

Try these videos to get started. Must access on campus or login with your COM account for off campus access.

Want more on finding media? Try Articles & Media.

The Brainwashing of My Dad (1:29:00) In Jen Senko’s award-winning new documentary, THE BRAINWASHING OF MY DAD, she seeks to discover why her WWII veteran father’s personality radically transformed from that of a non-political Kennedy Democrat to an angry right-wing fanatic after his discovery of Talk Radio and Fox News. In trying to understand how this happened, Senko not only finds this to be a phenomenon, but also comes to a startling conclusion about the course of the media over the last 30-40 years. In her research she begins to see how a plan to create a media for the GOP by Roger Ailes concocted in the days of Nixon; the Lewis Powell Memo - urging business leaders to influence institutions of public opinion, especially the media; and under Reagan, the dismantling of the Fairness Doctrine, helped to change the nation’s direction and culture, misinformed millions, divided families and even the country itself. The documentary pulls back the curtain on the wizards behind the right-wing media phenomenon, and through interviews with Noam Chomsky, David Brock, Jeff Cohen, George Lakoff, Claire Connor, Dr. Kathleen Taylor, Frank Luntz and others, reveals the true story of the behind-the-scenes strategies designed to shift the national discourse to the Right.
Divided States of America: What Is Tearing Us Apart? (43:00) Fareed Zakaria investigates how the divide between Republicans and Democrats in America has become a national crisis - the role of extreme right-wing media, racial hatred, and the feelings of betrayal from millions of Americans who feel they've been left behind.
How Media Business Models Fuel Polarization (5:00) Partisan media is popular, but poisonous, according to Tim Dixon, the co-author of a new study, The Hidden Tribes of America." Dixon tells Brian Stelter that most Americans aren't locked in the cold civil war that's taking place on partisan cable news shows and talk radio. Instead, 67 percent are part of what he calls the "exhausted majority." So what should the media do to represent those voices?"
Influencing Global Events (04:11) Cairo organizers used Facebook to rally protesters during the Arab Spring. Journalist Peter Greste and political prisoner Mohamed Soltan used Facebook pages to gather support, keep families informed, and establish credibility while imprisoned in Egypt.
Persuasion Machine (52:26) Jamie Bartlett reveals how Silicon Valley's mission to connect the world is disrupting democracy. Many of the tech gods were dismayed when Donald Trump won the American presidency, but did they actually help him win? With the help of a key insider from the Trump campaign's digital operation, Jamie unravels the role played by social media in getting Trump into the White House. He learns how Facebook's vast power to persuade was first built for advertisers, combining data about our internet use and psychological insights into how we think. A leading psychologist then shows Jamie how Facebook's hoard of data can be used to predict our personalities and other psychological traits. Exploring the emotional mechanisms that supercharge the spread of fake news on social media, Jamie reveals how Silicon Valley's persuasion machine is now being exploited by political forces of all kinds, in ways no one may be able to stop.
Political Influence (04:31) Algorithms are partly responsible for hyper-partisan divisions. Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini explains how the Trump campaign used Facebook user data to target independent voters prior to the 2016 election. Experts are concerned about the lack of transparency impacting democracy.
You've Got Mail (13:00) Morley Safer reports on political campaign mail.