Hostile Media Perceptions

Hostile Media Perceptions
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Hostile Media Perceptions
Answer 1
Hostile media effect refers to the divergent perceptions of balanced, evenhanded, and neutral media content. Different researchers have unique ways of defining hostile media effects. For instance, Kim and Hansen (2011) defined the phenomenon as the way partisans perceive neutral news reports to be biased against their side (Hansen & Kim, 2011). Christen, Chia, Liebhart, and Gunther (2001) define hostile media effect as individuals’ tendency to be significantly involved in a specific issue to perceive news coverage as biased, mainly against their viewpoint (Gunther, Christen, Liebhart, & Chia, 2001). In the section “Moderating Factors,” Richard Perloff describes things that increase the likelihood that the hostile media effect will be experienced rather than biased assimilation. One of the factors that the author discusses is involvement. In particular, the hostile media effect increases as people become more involved in a particular issue. Perloff asserts that involvement is categorized into three distinctive levels, namely low, medium, and high (Perloff, 2015). Low involvement is experienced when participants are less connected to a specific issue. On the contrary, high involvement occurs when individuals are more connected to a particular problem. Medium involvement entails being averagely involved in something. People are more connected with things that affect their lives directly. For example, any news report involving water contamination is likely to have a high involvement. Besides, individuals cannot live without water. If water from a specific region is said to be contaminated, the hostile media effect would have a high likelihood to be experienced since the issue touches the lives of numerous people. Some types of involvement, such as affective and value-relevant, highly influence individuals’ emotional reactions, affecting hostile media perceptions. In other words, the more people are involved in something, the more they understand it better. As such, if such a problem is reported in the media, individuals are likely to give their views about the issue. People can criticize how the news is reported if the media misses some facts, leading to hostile media perceptions. As a result, individuals highly involved in a particular issue are likely to perceive its news coverage as biased against their viewpoints.
Answer 2
One has witnessed a hostile media effect in real-life. The former president of the United States of America (USA), Donald Trump, believed that his administration best dealt with issues affecting Americans. As such, Trump did not want to be criticized by the media. He was too involved in media affairs, and his response to specific problems was not the best. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 an international threat to humanity during his tenure. However, instead of implementing proper measures to curb the spread of this deadly virus, Trump was invested in fighting against the media. For sure, it appeared as if Trump did not believe that coronavirus was such a deadly disease. The former president did nothing to combat the spread of COVID-19 during its early stages. In addition, after he got infected with the disease, Trump changed his perception. Although he did not authorize other leaders to make significant changes to control the spread of coronavirus, he said on the media that his government was doing everything to control the disease. Trump did not want the media to broadcast the reality of the situation, and instead, he kept fighting against the press rather than implementing proper policies. During his campaigns, before President Joe Biden won, he criticized his opponents for saying that they would ensure that Americans were vaccinated against the deadly virus to return to normalcy. Specifically, Trump was heavily invested that his administration was doing good things for Americans, and he did not want to be criticized about areas where he failed. Instead of focusing on things that his administration should be doing to make life better for Americans, he spent more time fighting against the media. Trump hated critics, and he wanted people to support him regardless of whether what he did or said was right or wrong.
Answer 3
Based on Perloff's consequences of hostile media effect and my experience, it is evident that it can affect individuals' cognitions and behaviors. Researchers used persuasive press inference to show various ways that the hostile media effect might influence public perceptions and opinions. Notably, high-reach news affects many individuals, and the public corresponds with the news perceived directionality (Perloff, 2015). For instance, partisans who believe that news coverage is hostile are likely to oppose the report. When Trump said that COVID-19 or global warming does not pose a danger to the public, he might have lost his followers. The former president perceived news about coronavirus as a conspiracy, and he took much time fighting against the press instead of implementing policies to curb the spread. The hostile media effect contributed to the fast spread of COVID-19 in the USA. In that light, delayed decision-making is a consequence of the hostile media effect. If someone perceives the medi...