Stylistic Differences in US vs UK TV News Media

Television Media in a country or region is very representative of its audience. Steve Jobs once said, “When you’re young, you look at television and think, There’s a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That’s a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic!” I find this opinion to be true. 

When you compare the US television news media to UK television news media, there are vast differences in style and content. US TV media is self-regulated and political advertisements are allowed. During election season, political ads flood the airwaves. News organizations demonstrate blatant political biases, which compromise their ability to convey the news. This issue affects both sides of the political spectrum.

UK television news media, on the other hand, is heavily regulated by the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. There is no political advertising allowed and political broadcast segments are limited to five minutes. The news itself must be impartial. According to the broadcasting code, "News, in whatever form, must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality".  UK Television news segments focus more on facts and less on opinion. 

I rarely watch US TV news media anymore, but I watched a local US broadcast to make an accurate comparison possible to the UK-based BBC News. The US broadcast covered multiple topics but will focus on two, Covid-19 vaccination progress, and Spring Break violence in Miami Beach. The US broadcast used a far more over-the-top style than the UK broadcast. It first reported on a confrontation between Senator Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The confrontation was regarding needing to wear masks after being vaccinated but focused more on the argument instead of the science behind each opposing side. The report on Spring Break violence focused on showing videos on social media of fights and disorderly conduct. There was no context on why this rise of violence was occurring or what the city plans to do about it. I felt the emphasis was on drama over facts.

The two topics on the UK broadcast I compared were Covid-19 vaccination progress and census day in the UK. The UK broadcast style is way different than in the US. The UK news uses a documentary style with far more text to read on the screen. The Covid-19 segment focused on syringe manufacturing in India. It went into detail on how vital increasing syringe manufacturing is and interviewed manufacturing workers. It demonstrated the process in detail. The second segment was regarding UK Census day. It described what Census day was and how the process worked. I felt that facts and hearing informed opinions from interviewees was emphasized. 

I think the UK TV broadcasts focus more on the issues and let the audience decide what to think, while US-based TV broadcasts focus more on sensationalizing the news.

Looking Back On Marshall McLuhan's Views On Media

Three strong points and three limitations of McLuhan's ideas.

Marshall McLuhan was an English professor whose work was pioneering in the field of media theory. His work focused on exploring how different forms of media impact human behavior. He authored several books and coined the phrases the "Medium Is The Message" and "the Global village".

Strong Points

McLuhan believed any communication medium is more influential than the messages sent via that medium. This is because the medium impacts how society processes data, how humans think and relate to the world around them. He believed this changes societies over long periods. I believe McLuhan was correct in both these beliefs.

For example, when humans communicated orally, listening and speaking clearly, was important in an environment dominated by sound. When the alphabet and writing were created, sight became the most important sense. Reading could be done in solitude, which led to the individualization of both people and nations.

The next big evolution was electronic media: telegraphs, radio, telephones, televisions. These devices, with their ability to cross vast distances, re-tribalized society. McLuhan deemed this new phenomenon the Global Village. I believe McLuhan was correct in that he believed that these communication mediums created spaces for human interactions. Like the town squares or coffee houses in centuries past.

Limitations

McLuhan claimed the world would become a global village, but this has not truly been achieved. While people in different geographical areas are connected, their interactions are still mostly limited to those who speak their same language. Language is still a barrier until like in sci-fi movies a universal translator is created.  

Another limitation is that there is segregation based on philosophy. Users tend to speak with others who share their views. The more media choices and communications options the more polarization.

The third limitation is that the medium is the message describes subtle structural change over time that is difficult to gauge via empirical evidence. How do gauge the true impact of a medium on society? Can we truly understand for instance the impact of TV on society? Especially with newer forms of communications such as social media of which there are multiple forms.