The Power of Broadcasting

The news can be brought to the public through multiple avenues including; newspapers, radio, broadcast, the internet and much more. While the local news focuses on subjects and events in the surrounding area the national news focuses in on events on a larger spectrum. I never realized the emotional control that broadcast journalist have over their audience. Anchors and reporters can set the mood on how the audience interprets a story. A reporter can even persuade the audience on a defendants guilt or innocence in a criminal case through pretrial publicity. Pretrial publicity can either be helpful or harmful depending on the reporters relationship and or feelings towards the defendant. While reports are suppose to remain neutral, body language, tone, and verbiage can play an sufficient role in manipulating the audiences opinion. In the unfortunate case of Somer Thompson, a seven-year-old, who disappeared in the Orange Park area after walking home from school one day and later discovered dead in a Georgia landfill, it is hard for a reporter to cover such a sad event but even harder to not demonstrate anger in demanding justice for the little girl. With this tragic event still fresh in the minds of people in the community, I can remember in detail the coverage of the story by local news stations. "News 4 Jax," was constantly updating any and all information on the little girls disappearance right up to recovering of her tiny body. Reading about this tragic event may not have evoked equal emotional tension in the viewers. Reporters in broadcast have the capability of reporting at the scene and interviewing people who are directly related or involved in the event allowing viewers to relate more on a personal level. Broadcasting is such an important medium for communicating the news and is a part of the daily agenda of many Americans.