If America can be said to have
violent cultures, relatively speaking and especially in countries such as Honduras
but also in some U.S. states such as Illinois (e.g., Rockford and south
Chicago), the media may simply be reflecting the wider culture in writing of political
debates by using words like fight and battle in place of argue
and debate. One effect is to exacerbate the problem, culturally
speaking. Another effect is to garner more attention, which in turn translates
into more revenue from selling advertisements. To the media, the latter counts
whereas the former does not; the media can blame the “heated rhetoric” of candidates
for office and elected officeholders for an uptick in political violence rather
than assume some of the responsibility. I submit that journalists are even more
at fault when they magnify the significance of a political event to the point
of being mistaken, widely missing the actual mark. The lack of any
follow-through in the field wherein one media outlet holds another accountable is
also a problem, especially when all of the major outlets are on the proverbial
bandwagon.
The full essay is at "The American Media's Hyperbole in Politics."
