1. Television News(Domestic and Global)

Television News(Domestic and Global)

Television news, created almost a century ago, continues to have significant influence over countries all around the world. To any media analyst or worker, this sounds heavenly. As well, to any media analyst or worker, this sounds alarming, considering the increase in tabloid news, regularly uncorrected mistakes, the display of personal opinion outweighing facts (mostly politics), and the sensationalism that modern-day journalists utilize to manage these multi-million dollar companies. 

What’s wrong with domestic television news?

In the United States, the press defines the highest-rated television news outlets,  Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN  as the "Big Three." To any audience within or outside of the United States that is aware of these branded news outlets and their net worth, it's expected from them to provide the most factually accurate and detailed information about news in real time. Following up expectations with reality, some of the biggest problems in social media and news, include mistakes regularly left uncorrected, poor coverage of important news/sensationalism, and non-profit organizations educating the public more than profit organizations.  Daily Source: Global Social Justice News 

Dan Froomkin, an editor of Press Watch, wrote an article in April of 2022, discussing the propaganda and misinformation Fox News enforces on their audience. The article, Fox News isn't news, states "But the biggest takeaway for me is the realization that Fox viewers aren't just manipulated and misinformed -- they are literally being made ignorant by their consumption habits." Froomkin continues with exposition of 40% of 763 far-right loyal Fox News viewers that were paid $15 an hour to watch up to seven hours of CNN per week during September 2020. The participants were given quizzes during the week to ensure that they were paying attention to the information the outlet was providing. The results show the drastic difference in between topics that Fox News was covering. The topics consisted of the severity in Covid and the Trump administration failing to control the virus and its aftermath affects on the nation. Journalist, Froomkin, also mentions that Fox has spent 15,236 words discussing "Biden/Democrats support for extreme racial ideology/protests," compared to CNN only using 1,300. In other words, they are wasteful with their news delivery. 

What’s wrong with global television news?

Turkmenistan is one of the most censored counties in the world, falling on the charts to be worse than the United States. News reporters and journalists are not allowed “media landscape.” News sites are blocked, as well as social media(such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.) They are shut off from being made aware of the reality happening outside of their own country. Voa News

What does Turkmenistan's news look like? 

Journalists refer to this permanent lockdown as a “parallel reality.” All of the media outlets are owned by the government and Turkmenistan’s ruler, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. Reporters are forced to offer their praise and gratitude to the ruler, along with reporting official news only. 

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow

The channels are presented with President Berdimuhamedow "in action," where he is planting tress in the dessert, reprimanding sheepish government minister, and all things worthy of "rapturous applause." Yushup Bakhshiyev, a civil servant who lives in the capital reported, "Turkmen television is very boring, not informative, with the same shows over and over again." Yushup was once able to watch a few foreign channels with a satellite link, until local officials went to his home and told him to remove it, as it was "spoiling the architecture of the town." 

The United States is a country of masking important news in its own way, but other countries, (Turkmenistan included) are ridded the freedom of expressing politics, perspectives of celebrity's latest scandals, and all of America's favorites to hear about. News, both domestic and global, are headed in the direction of failing the nations. That is only a matter of time.