>But believe me, at a certain level, things are not what they seem, especially with regards to the media.>
In your earlier posts about Hollywood media you were suggesting an insideous media campaign against family life. And now you are suggesting that gun violence by kids (or Cho) could be a instigated by anti-gun lobby to force Americans to surrender their weapons so that they would not be able to rebel.
First of all, even if there were few guns, there have always been gun deaths. Anti-gun lobby does not need to cause 32 deaths to make their case. They can always exaggerate any gun violence deaths to push their agenda.
You may have a point about media, but picking Cho's case as an example would be damaging your own argument. You should wait till the media tries to equate Cho the madman with Kim Jong Il of North Korea (the mad man), then you would be validated. After all it took 8-10 years of Bin Laden and Saddam Hussain to allow the following in everyone's mind - Hussain=Bin Laden=Al Quaeda.
Here is one example of media manipulation that was positive. Only goes to prove that subtle media manipulation by a small number of conspirators can succeed.
hsph.harvard.edu
Launched in 1988, the Harvard Alcohol Project sought to demonstrate how a new social concept, the "designated driver," could be rapidly diffused through American society via mass communication, catalyzing a fundamental shift in social norms relating to driving-after-drinking. Such a shift was essential for curbing alcohol-related traffic fatalities, the leading cause of death among young adults aged 15-24. Through this Project, the Center became the architect of the "designated driver" campaign in the United States, importing the concept from Scandinavia.
The Harvard Alcohol Project represented a genuine breakthrough for public health. It marked the first time that a health institution joined forces with the communications industry on a project of this magnitude. All major Hollywood studios participated along with the ABC, CBS, and NBC television networks. Channels, a respected trade journal, called the extent of this industry involvement "unparalleled," and The New York Times lauded the initiative in an editorial.
The Project broke important new ground when TV writers agreed to insert drunk driving prevention messages, including references to designated drivers, into scripts of top-rated television programs, such as "Cheers," "L.A. Law," and "The Cosby Show." Entertainment not only mirrors social reality, but also helps shape it by depicting what constitutes popular opinion, by influencing people's perceptions of the roles and behaviors that are appropriate to members of a culture, and by modeling specific behaviors. The strength of this approach is that short messages, embedded within dialogue, are casually presented by characters who serve as role models within a dramatic context, facilitating social learning. The Project’s strategy was strongly endorsed in a unanimous resolution of the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West. Harvard served as catalyst and information source; television writers retained full creative control. Prior to the Center's work, no one had successfully organized the creative community for such a large-scale effort. Over a four-year period, more than 160 prime-time programs incorporated sub-plots, scenes, and dialogue on the subject, including frequent references to the use of the designated driver.
At Harvard's request, ABC, CBS, and NBC also aired frequent public service announcements (PSAs) during prime time encouraging the use of designated drivers. This was the first time that the three networks produced and sponsored simultaneous campaigns with the same message. The Center's public relations activities further reinforced the campaign, generating extensive news coverage.
The Project received extensive national attention, including a special report on "ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" and a front-page article in The New York Times. Another significant aspect of the Project was its cost-effectiveness. According to industry estimates, the Project received over $100 million annually in network air time, utilizing under $300,000 in annual grants.
The designated driver campaign soon became transformed into a national movement as a broad range of prominent individuals (e.g., President George Bush, President Bill Clinton, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop); government agencies (e.g., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention); national organizations and advocacy groups (e.g., Mothers Against Drunk Driving); professional sports leagues (e.g., Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association); major corporations (e.g., State Farm Insurance); leading police departments; and brewers and distillers endorsed and promoted the designated driver concept.
"Designated driver" became a household phrase in the U.S. to such an extent that the term appeared in the 1991 Random House Webster's College Dictionary. Public opinion polls documented the rapid, wide acceptance and strong popularity of the designated driver concept. According to the Roper Poll, the proportion of Americans serving as a designated driver reached 37% in 1991. Among Americans under the age of 30, 52% had actually been a designated driver. Among frequent drinkers, 54% had been driven home by a designated driver. The Wirthlin Group reported that nearly 9 out of 10 respondents in the country were familiar with the designated driver program and they gave it a favorability rating of 81 on a 100-point scale; the designated driver program rated higher than all other programs or industries rated.
-Arun |
