Discourse Journal - Jason Stafford - Paris Sues Fox News
Main Ideas at Work:
Power - The media and its control. Power over people. Power over information.
Ideology -- influencing people on what to believe
Iconography -- leads to the idea that the “world is on fire”
Summary:
On January 20, 2015, Christinae Amapour reported on CNN that the mayor of Paris, Anne Zhidalgo, was planning to sue Fox. Through a critical discourse analysis of the original video as well additional blog and news reports, I consider this to a case where power and ideology are at play.
CNN Link:
CNN report on Paris Mayor suing Fox News
“Paris Mayor Plans to Sue Fox News for 'Insulting' Her City Over Muslim 'No-Go Zones'”
Mayor Anne Hidalgo mentioned “the image of Paris” and “honor of Paris”
Police see this as a “wild west”
Iconography of Paris - images in the background.
Fox News clip:
Terms:
- caliphate
- no-go zone
- shock
This is a case of power and access. As Machin and Mayr discuss "Through power, people, or groups, are able to control others." This can be done in a number of different ways, including education, wealth, and information. Through the media, power is used by putting ideas in people’s heads. They are given the information and internalize it. Through viewing this piece, they are aware of the issue and have an opinion of it. People could have a negative opinion of Fox News by seeing and reviewing this piece, since the story is a negative outlook on the network. Even in my situation, I misread what actually occurred with this story by misleading headlines. This is ironic, because the actual piece I am writing about, in terms of power and ideology, was internalized by myself through the medias tricky headlines. They were able to use their power to influence my ideology and what I thought was happening.
Bloggers also picked up on this story:
Wemple: “After all the aspersions, insults, vitriol, sniping, jeering and just general nastiness directed at Paris and at France over the years not only from Fox News but from many other U.S. precincts, THIS is what triggers a libel claim from the city of Paris?”
- Here is a place to connect to Machin and Mayr -- this is a lack of specific detail
- Making an attack on Fox News (literal and figurative)
“When we’re insulted, and when we’ve had an image, then I think we’ll have to sue, I think we’ll have to go to court, in order to have these words removed,” said Hidalgo to Christiane Amanpour of CNN. “The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced.”
It is ironic that the blog was using language that dealt with attacks, because the original event that caused this uproar was an attack in Paris. I do not believe the blogger used this type of language accidentally.
Also:
Jardin: “Does "The Streisand Effect" not translate into French? The best antidote for Stupid Speech is Smart Speech, not criminalizing Stupid Speech. Congratulations, Mayor Hidalgo, just weeks after the Charlie Hebdo massacre you managed to become a globally-celebrated foe of the free press.”
- Questions to think about:
- Satire? Serious? Does it matter?
This blog was much more satirical, and less professional than the first. But it shows how many people have opinions on this story. Because this story has been circulated and many people are writing about it, it further exemplifies the power of the media. They are the controllers of information and how we see and learn about world events. Through their headlines and writing, they can influence what we see and why. This is a very powerful tool, and can direct our ideology.
