The Media Searchlight

It has come to my attention that many of our concerns in the world today may not be as big as they seem, but that they are often exaggerated by the media. The media picks problems, issues, events, etc and magnifies them based on audience reaction. Take the H1N1 (or Swine Flu) virus for example-- it is nothing more than another simple flu that has surfaced yet, the media has celebrities with face masks coming off planes from Mexico and emphasizes the symptoms to the public to build our concern and fear over this new virus.

This is just one example of how the media can bring certain things to our attention and magnify the importance of these things in our day-to-day lives. If the media acts as such a powerful searchlight to highten our awareness of some events, just imagine what it can do to lead us to ignore other events by simply not bringing them to our attention and not taking the time to inform us of such events. I think it the media has a truely awesome power over the things we know, percieve, and are informed/aware of and that it is very important for us to be aware of this power so that it does not completely control us some day.

TaySwift Vs. Kanye

On Sunday September 13th, 2009, MTV presented their highly anticipated annual Video Music Awards (VMAs). The stars assembled and awards were won, with everyone rooting for their favorite artists. Typically on the nights of these types of award ceremonies, there is a little bit of internet buzz with people commenting on the show. That night, however, there was an interruption in the show.

Announcing the winner for Best Female Video were Taylor Lautner (Twilight: New Moon) and Shakira (latin singer). The nominations for this category included Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and P!nk. The winner was announced: Taylor Swift wins for her video "You Belong With Me"!

• Taylor Swift began as a Country Music singer and is slowly emerging into the pool of pop music and making a BIG splash! The 19 year-old's hits include "Tim McGraw", "White Horse", "Fearless", "Our Song", and many more. She has guest starred on a handfull of TV shows including CSI and SNL. She is currently on tour for her second album Fearless (coming to the Target Center in 2 weeks! I'll be there!).

Upon giving her acceptance speech, (graciously thanking producers, family, and fans) Kanye West sneaks onto the stage taking the mic away from Taylor's hands and proceeded to tell the shocked crowd that Beyonce deserved to win the award for her video "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)". Kanye stated "You're video was great and all, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. Of all time."

• Beyonce is the wife of Jay-Z (whom Kanye refers to as his mentor).

The audience reacted by booing and reacted similarly when he was mentioned throughout the evening. The stars at the performance as well as fans watching the show at home were equally astonished and put-off by Kanye's actions. [View video of the conflict here]



The night went on and ended on a happy note when Beyonce's "Single Ladies" won the award for Best Video and she asked Taylor to come join her on stage so that she could have her moment and finish her speech.

What happened next is what shocked me the most though: Upon seconds of seeing Kanye's actions, I immediately went to my Facebook. Within seconds there were hundreds of posts on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. and many texts were sent. People Tweeted and posted statuses referring to the night such as the fallowing:

• "Like school in the summertime -- no class."
• "Sorry y'all but we're just a little bit protective of Taylor Swift around here!! Hey Kanye.. By around here, I mean the world!! Moron...."
• "Taylor Swift won me as a fan for life for her grace, as did Beyonce...humility and a humble spirit go a long way in this life and the next."
• "My heart goes out to Taylor Swift. She is a sweet and talented girl and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her."
• "Kanye when're you gonna figure out you're NOT the "voice of our generation?" No one thinks you're as awesome as you're convinced you are."
• "Kanye West should be banned from all music events. How disrespectful!"
• "THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR. REALLY MATURE. TAYLOR SWIFT OBVIOUSLY DESERVED THAT LIGHT, AND YOU ROBBED HER OF THAT. CONGRATS. THE LADIES OF THE NIGHT TRULY HANDLED THE SITUATION WITH GRACE THOUGH."

Even online quizzes were created with title like "When in your life will Kanye interrupt you?" and even our President Obama had something to say about Kanye's actions [View video of Obama's comment here]. The incident led me to think about how quickly we can now communicate with many, many people all at once now. The saying "news travels fast" really comes to mind.

Just something to think about next time you sign on to Facebook...