Chapter 3 of Jim Willis’ book “The Media Effect” describes media as the agitators. Media’s role as agitators seems to be an expedited change agent in nation building.

America’s founding fathers were enraged by what they saw as injustices and unfair taxation from overseas. Early mass communication (newspapers) brought these stories of dissent to the colonies and amplified American opposition for Great Britain’s tyrannical practices. Media served as a catalyst for change leading up to the Revolutionary War. Simply stated, journalists often feel it is their role to “stir the pot.”

The recent suicide of Tyler Clementi is an all around example of media agitation.

The webcast of Clementi’s sexual relationship alienated and humiliated (agitated) him enough to take his own life. This story has re-energized the debate over hate crime laws, particularly crimes against a person’s sexual orientation. This mass media coverage is sparking emotion on both sides of the privacy debate. Some say those involved should be prosecuted as an accessory in Clementi’s death as well as for invasion of privacy. Others feel Clementi’s death was his own choice and that those involved were acting out of stupidity but not with criminal intent.

Media coverage has re-ignited the debate over of gay rights as well as privacy issues. This story is being paired with other crimes based on sexual orientation and is being used to urge reform. This is truly the function of the media: to agitate, to spark debate, and to fuel dissent. When dissent is strong enough, change is often inevitable.

This agitation often revolves around conflict and gives a platform for those in opposition of the status quo or those opposed to proposed change. Recently, we have seen media coverage in opposition to the Iraq war, the New York City mosque issue, healthcare, the economy, global warming, and illegal immigration. These stories were issues before they hit the media but on a much smaller scale. It wasn’t until the national media took up on-going coverage of the conflicts that the propaganda wars were waged.

So, if the media disappeared would we be able to live with a little more peace and quiet in ignorant bliss? I say “no”. I truly believe true change would come but take much longer without mass media. Using mass media to stir up debate rarely brings up new issues. Instead, it brings to light the issues that have been tucked away out of the view of the mass public.

This week’s module is about media and the government. The events at Rutgers University will really bring up the debate on whether or not government needs to enact laws that relate directly to the way we use the internet and if there needs to be some sort of ‘social responsibility’ laws put into place. Was what happened a form of hate crime or was it an ‘innocent joke’ that went horribly wrong? In a society where even our own government has taken to social media to spread propaganda and conduct negative campaigning, it just might be the government who decides that enough is enough. Where do first amendment rights and common sense separate?

I haven’t yet heard this story. Of course, I don’t have cable in my apartment. This is so tragic for so many reasons. First, I have to expressed my sincere grief for Tyler and his family. What a horrible thing to have to deal with and you don’t even get privacy to do it. One of the things that stood out to me the most about this post was the fact that one of the attorneys might actually believe that there was nothing wrong with the actions of the two students. It obviously cannot be counted as harmless- a young man died. There was clear invasion of privacy and breaking the law. The students need to pay the consequences for their actions. Nobody should be willing to let them off the hook. You can yell fire in a theatre and get in trouble. But if you put something horrible online- it stays online. Its like yelling fire every day. I am appalled that this kind of behavior is occurring and in college students especially.

Media and technology have been huge advancements in our society. They have driven us to places we never thought we could go. We are a communicating digital community/world. But as helpful as it seems we must always remember how harmful it can be and has shown to have been.

It is sad how somebody could secretly tape a persons private sexual activity. If it was a joke, it still does not make it okay. Joke or not the people responsible should not get a slap on the wrist.It almost seems as it nothing is private anymore
It is interesting how people think that sexting is private matter. What they fail to realize is easy it is to forward those pictures to multiple people.

This week’s module was over the relationship between government and media. I’m glad you wrote about this event because it shows just how poorly our government is handling cyber bullying. When I say “cyber bullying” aloud, it sounds ridiculous, but it really is a problem that is becoming more prominent in our youth’s society. Ideally, when people think of government, they should think that the government know’s how to fix any problem. This is one problem that they haven’t figured out how to control. I really feel that the government should take more initiative to getting cyber bullying under control at a federal level.

I could go on and on about this post and what I feel the media has and has not done right in regards to the reactions and Tyler Clementi’s life. There are few key points that stood out immediately as I read Dr. Willis’ post.

1. The media certainly has acted as an agitator in the case of Tyler Clementi and the reactions we are seeing. Instead of conveying “enlightenment and harmony,” they’ve created animosity.” Ch 3 of Dr. Willis’ book quotes, “[national media] thus doign a good job of increasing irritations and suspicions among groups and governments and giving distorted pictures of various nations.” This exactly what the media has done here. They’ve agitated multiple groups related to this story on many different levels. Anxieties have been created for young homosexual teens, teen suicide activists, the government, lawyers, and politicians in regards to privacy laws and placing blame on those directly involved, problems regarding sexting, etc. The media coverage on Clementi has reached gay rights activists. Last week during Good Morning America, there was even a LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual And Transgender) representative speaking out on Clementi’s story. Ellen Degeneres posted a public announcement on tv and online.
We see clearly that the media directly creates such agitation.

2. The real question here is why did Clementi’s roommate and Molly Wei feel they could do this? There are already laws in place for the media in regards to privacy. There is a privacy law in each and every state regarding privacy invasion, which is interesting and something that I did not know before reading this post. Clementi’s roommate obviously did not think about his consequences or perhaps he had no idea he was breaking the law.

Are these the sort of ideas that open outlets of feelings and communication like Facebook and Twitter are putting
into people heads? Consider the source, you can literally post anything on Twitter and Facebook, just as Clementi’s
roommate did. Give and take, Facebook and Twitter does reserve the right to remove such material. However with the number of users amounting to what would be the worlds 3rd largest country, I can see how it can be hard to keep everyone under raps. Then again, that is why we have laws in place.

Tyler Clementi’s story is hitting close to home for many. He was a college student who had a Facebook account. I would say that’s a big chunk of our population. Unfortunately, Clementi is the latest victim of “cyber-voyeurism”. This form of bullying is increasing as social media becomes more popular and available.

As mentioned in “The Media Effect”, the mass media has a powerful effect on the country’s development. Media outlets can serve as agitators and have an effect on national development. This role is clear in the coverage of Clementi’s story. The media is using this story to develop a national debate over gay rights. People are blogging, posting comments on Facebook, tweeting, and even posting comments on station’s Web sites. There is a lot of emotion involved in this case because many feel this could happen to them. They become paranoid of their surroundings and worry about their own privacy.

I think this also opens up debate over the invasion of privacy. The media has been known as the “watchdog” over government actions. Who is watching over the effect media can play in privacy issues? It’s interesting to know that each state has its own privacy laws. I think a lot of people are going to be following this story to see just how far the case goes in New Jersey. Will this lead to a stricter punishment? This story has already made national headlines and it has been the topic of discussion on talk shows. Whether or not the two students behind the alleged webcasting face criminal charges, Clementi’s story will not be forgotten and it will spark an on going national debate.

This absolutely breaks my heart. To think that two people could abe so cruel and vindictive is obviously representative to hte many harmful effects that social networking the it’s availibility to easily share information has caused. Such a young boy shouldn’t have fealt so lost and so tormented by his life. I hope both students receive hard time.

I am most angered whenever I hear these news pieces. These are the types of things that make me mistrustful of Internet hosting sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, MySpace, YouTube, etc. It is tragic and unnecessary. However, with so many Internet-based hosting sites and the huge increase of the Internet’s popularity, why aren’t there more strict laws imposed regarding privacy breaches and cyber bullying?

The poor boy was exposed in one of the most intimate times. How can we judge him when most people experience some sexual activity? Perhaps he didn’t want everyone to know that he was having this sexual relationship with a man and I think that most people in this situation would feel betrayed, ashamed, and most importantly embarrassed. Unfortunately, our society thrives on poking fun of others, maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves. But in essence, what are we doing? We insult, put down, and betray trusts that are instilled upon us by others. No one wants their dirty little secrets exposed, if it happened to us, we would feel just as bad as he probably did.

I didn’t know about this story before reading it today on this blog. It really struck me how tragic and sad this really is. I think this incident is really just a broad covering of the impact media and technology has on people’s lives. As an individual who wouldn’t want their privacy kept and respected by others? With technology and the internet etc. being as popular and exposing as it is in today’s culture, we seem to have our privacy taken away. We need to be really intentional and careful with how we use the internet and technology because one small things can really turn out to be something huge or detrimental.