http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2012/10/05/exp-early-ca-gas-vercammen.cnn.html
Gasoline and gasoline prices have become one of the most talked about subjects in the 21st century. News outlets report on the constant fluctuation of the prices and availability of gasoline, be it that the prices have gone down, gone up, or there is a shortage "crisis" at hand. This segment by CNN is an example of both a bad news bias and a temporal bias. The reasoning behind saying that a bad news bias applies to this report is because it is something that could potentially affect every American, in some theoretical way. Almost every American citizen either owns, drives, or rides in a vehicle that requires gasoline and this fact is played upon by making a seemingly situation that is not amazingly problematic appear to be a gas shortage that could make its way across the United States, raising prices astronomically. At 40 seconds into the video the reporter, Mr. Vercammen, explains the cause of the gasoline shortages in California. I feel that he says these causes in a manner that makes it feel like they could happen anywhere. If that was not the case at that particular part of the video, towards the end I very much believe it is. Ms. Sambolin asks Mr. Vercammen if this could potentially spread to other states, in what I feel to be an attempt to put the viewer on "the edge of their seats," waiting for the response from Mr. Vercammen, afraid that it could affect them. Mr. Vercammen assures her that "they" think the issue will be confined to California. What better way to spread a bit of panic than to leave a possibility of this issue spreading to other states, even if it is just from the word "think," eh?
The second bias I noted while watching through this report is based the notion that gas prices are constantly changing; up and down-relief and crisis. This exemplifies traits of a temporal bias. A change in gas price does not have much information to go off of usually, but the ramifications of change happening is something that news media can use to work around that problem. Who knows if prices will be even double what they are now tomorrow? Maybe prices will go down someday, but when? That coupled with the on-going energy crisis and fear that one day gas will run out for us all make for a news story that affects the majority of those that live in the United States. A visual bias can contribute to this as well. The images of the signs saying "Sorry, we're out of gas at the moment" and the "Closed" sign on the side of the gas pump help to contribute a since of scare, even if it will be relieved when the next price drops happen.
Matthew S.
(469 words)
Dear Matthew,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your ideas on the biases you used. Especially with the bad news bias. The CNN reporters are trying to spread the news to the fellow citizens. Being a driver myself, I want to know the gas prices because that will definitely affect how much I actually will be driving, as will the people who live in California. The bad news bias is definitely the major one used in this post because of how the people CNN interviewed were not happy with what they are paying for gas. It was viewed in a very negative way, something travelers definitely did not want to hear. When Mr. Vercanmmen said “think”, like you said, the first thought that came to my mind is, “really? It’s already happening.” I agreed with your point when you said how it will spread to other states, states like Illinois are broke; the taxes on everything are rising up. All we can do is sit back and take it in.
I felt another bias was also portrayed here, like you had mentioned in your last paragraph, briefly that would be visual bias. When a driver is looking to fill up their empty gas tank, what do they normally look for? Lower gas prices. Which is the best to use in order to get the best deal? Gasoline is no different if it comes from this gas station compared to the one down the street. The only difference is the price, and that is the most important, don’t you think? We are consumers; we are always looking for a great deal, no matter what we are looking for. We are attracted by what we see and experience, so it’s no wonder why we are always on the hunt for cheap gas, because we are all buyers, and we all like having money.
Priyanka Bhakta
(Word Count: 309)