Danielle Garcia | Staff Writer
opinion@fiusm.com
The role of mass media and it’s different platforms like television, radio and newspapers, has recently been at the forefront of its own exertion of freedom of speech. It is true that the media, especially the well known news sources, drives the discourse on culture and society. This type of influence is called priming or media priming. Priming is the duration of an issue, or the amount of time the media keeps information alive and how often they provide it. The longer the media devotes itself to that issue, the stronger the public view will become.
The recent events of the Sony Entertainment hacking by North Korea and the horrible terrorist attack in Paris have changed the way priming affects freedom of speech, which is a journalist’s number one right. Although freedom of speech is evidently necessary, it goes to show how unfortunate it can turn out. Each person should be able to write, say, and draw what they please without waiting for a violent death.
The hacking of Sony was not in any way physically violent but it jeopardized reputations, jobs, personal information and businesses. Media coverage dedicated most of the cyberattack controversy to the release of the comedy film “The Interview,” based on the assassination of North Korea’s leader Kim Jon-un. Major theater companies were fearful of terrorist attacks and only limited theaters released the movie.
Shortly after the debate to release the film, media coverage noticeably died down. A limited showing of the film was a good decision but the hackers ultimately threatened our right of expression. The lack of media coverage towards the end, in a way, kept the public safe and did not contribute to the distribution of hacked information. There is no doubt that this was a cyber terror attack that challenged freedom of speech and media priming had to eventually lessen its influence on the public.
Much like “The Interview,” French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo devotes itself to challenging public opinion through their political, cultural and religious humor. Printing weekly, it keeps current news alive. The Muslim extremists who killed 12 people at Charlie Hebdo had a vendetta against freedom of expression. It built intimidation within every facet of the media from the big news sources to small magazines like Charlie Hebdo.
Freedom of speech was violently shut down as this terrorist attack gruesomely let the world know not to insult their religion, not even by drawing. The mass media and even French citizens used this event to march the streets as a form of expression and resistance towards the attack and the importance of freedom of expression. In this case, media priming has not ceased.The mass media is so influential that it spreads a global stereotype of a culture, thereby linking an individual to that society. Satire is clearly not taken lightly but even at the risk of violence, freedom of speech must always triumph over any obstacles.
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