Sherrod: The Cause Of Racism

Many individuals pick up the local newspaper, turn on the television to a local channel for the six o’clock news, or even have the home page set on one’s computer to a webpage that provides up to date current events. A safe assumption, might be that the individual performing any of the above actions, is doing so with the intent to acquire information. Maybe individuals simply want to know what happened in their community that day, maybe it is the world news that one is looking for, or perhaps one just simply wants to know what the next day’s weather is going to be like. Regardless, of the media outlet being used or the type of information an individual is trying to obtain chances are, most if not all individuals expect that what one is reading …show more content…
The problem with the video, however, was that it was not complete, it had been stripped of most content leaving only statements that would depict and elude individuals who watched to the opinion that Sherrod was indeed racist (Scenario, n.d.). The result of this despicable act led to fighting in the air waves among the media, which essentially changed society as it was known in the U.S. (Scenario, n.d.). Sherrod fought to win back her reputation and believed that not only had her career suffered, but also her integrity as the stripped video was essentially a defamation of character (Gerstein, 2015). Not long after, an unstripped, full content video was distributed to the media, but the destruction and impact it left in the wake had already taken place (Scenario, …show more content…
Yes. Given the fact that many individuals look to the media as a source of information, it has the ability to be influential and persuasive. Many individuals believe what is heard or written, there is a sense of trust that individuals find with the source and with that trust comes the opportunity to influence behaviors (Nelson & Campbell, 2013). For instance, in the Sherrod situation her job was essentially taken away because individuals believed what was posted by Breitbart was the truth. Breitbart influenced individuals thinking by posting only part of the story, due to the false video, individuals believed that Sherrod was indeed racist, leading to unfound behavior that resulted in her dismissal; only to later find that was far from the truth (Stolberg, Dewan, & Stelter, 2010). It is of the opinion that this type of power the media holds and the ability to influence individuals is enough to warrant a high level of evaluation when it comes to sensitive topics such as