Reflection week 3

For this week’s lab, I was able to experience the Newseum. I saw three exhibits there, Hurricane Katrina, September 11th, and the Pulitzer Prize winning photography. I was really moved by all three exhibits, and seeing everything that had happened in the form of pictures and video made it all the more poignant. The really incredible thing that I noticed was how the media really shapes the world. For example, in the hurricane Katrina exhibit, there was a whole section of newspaper headlines and front pages showing the progression of the storm and the subsequent disaster. The reporters and staff worked tirelessly and in dangerous situations in order to publish their paper on time. Without the attention brought to Katrina victims by the media, who knows how long it would have taken help to arrive? One instance I found particularly relevant is when the mayor of New Orleans claimed he was unaware of the chaos and thousands of people at the Superdome, and the reporter interviewing countered that the footage of the Superdome had been streaming on national television, so how could the news company have better Intel than the mayor of the city.

The Pulitzer Prize winning photographs on display were striking, and it was interesting to note just how many of the pictures on the walls dealt with war, famine, death, or sadness. Some of the pictures taken captured important events on camera, and others exposed something occurring the world needed to see. One picture was of Vietnamese children fleeing their village after a napalm attack. (http://pulitzerprize.org/photography/kim-phuc/) thinking about this picture, I wondered how many people had no idea what was happening during the Vietnam War until they saw the pictures and video of it. I remember learning about how the media really became vital in showing Americans the atrocities occurring in Vietnam, and raising opposition to the war itself.
 
In the September 11th exhibit; the photographs they had on display were really striking. They captured the dust and debris, and it was difficult to look at some of the images. The fact that these pictures would forever be evidence of the tragedy—something that could never be erased with time made me realize just how important the media is to both society and world politics today.

We’ve talked quite a bit in World Politics about a country's image. The media is really the primary force that shapes this image. Machiavelli advises rulers to personify only the characteristics you want your people to see, but today, that counsel is outdated. There is so much media coverage of every little thing that politicians have an extremely difficult time hiding their true nature. Despite the aggressive nature of reporters and the media, and the negative reputation they sometimes accrue, I believe, especially after this week’s lab, that they are essential to our lives today, our accumulated knowledge base, and the formation of our political and moral opinions.