Preview

Facts And Opinions In Speech By Newton N. Minow

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
371 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Facts And Opinions In Speech By Newton N. Minow
Facts are statements that can be supported by evidence. To be a fact it must be true to everyone. To be a fact it must also be able to be scientifically proven. Opinions on the other hand are simply someone’s personal thoughts on a specific situation. But sometimes an opinion is so strong felt by one particular person that thru there rebuttal it makes everyone believe it is indeed a fact.

Newton N. Minow, a federal communications commission chair man gave a speech before a group of television executives. In his speech he gives his opinion that television was nothing more than a “vast wasteland” of senseless violence, mindless comedy, and offensive advertising. This is an opinion since not everyone may agree with Minow, and believe
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box" by Dana Stevens vs. “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” by Steven Johnson
    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages

    "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box" by Dana Stevens vs. “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” by Steven Johnson

    There is no doubt that television holds a purpose in our society today, but is that purpose brain-numbing or actually beneficial to our brain development? The television, also known as: TV, the boob tube, the idiot box, as well as many other nicknames, has been around for almost a hundred years. Ever since cable TV became popular in the 1950’s, there has always been a worry that people watch too much TV. Most people believe that with exorbitant exposure to the popular media both dumbs us down as well as makes us more likely to tolerate acts of violence. Dana Stevens’ “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” argues that television does not make you smarter, directly contrasting Steven Johnsons article, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter.” Television has definitely made a mark on our hearts and has most certainly made an impact on society, but too much of a good thing is never a good thing. The propaganda photo about television that was found on Facebook is a good lens that helps me understand Stevens’ argument better. The photo assisted the understanding of Stevens’ depiction and contradiction of Johnsons writing, her discussion about what these “more complex shows” are actually like, as well as her discussion about the national event TV Turn Off Week. This photo clearly depicts that TV does not enhance or benefit in brain production in any way, however it “destroys” the imagination, or what’s left of it, and in return, it fills the mind with complete nonsense, and therefore numbing the brain. The photo, which is a picture of a television, states, “My job is to help destroy what’s left of your imagination by feeding you endless doses of sugar-coated mindless garbage.” As humans, we are very complex intellectual beings, however television has been captivating our minds and bringing our intelligence down.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Newton Minow's Speech 'Vast Wasteland'
    • 1790 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Newton Minow's Speech 'Vast Wasteland'

    Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee Newton Minow gave his speech “Vast Wasteland” that drives the point of discussion with an insistent fervor, accentuating the need for the people to guide the direction of television programming to support the business, allowing it to not only survive, but strive. This claim is buttressed by initially establishing his credibility to help express his desire to protect the public, while also working to persuade the audience by sprouting claims that would be seen as truth; Minow also goes on to persuade the audience to formulate their own opinions by use of question-like statements to veer them in the proper direction, then appealing to the audience’s emotions directly with paradigms that would create an array of notions to gain more support from his audience; he then uses strong language to highlight the importance of the situation at hand, using these words to help him achieve a sense of reason with the audience. Minow’s intention of the speech was to open the eyes of the audience to finally see that television business was truly a “vast wasteland” and that it was not…

    • 1790 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Neil Postman Amusing Ourselves To Death Analysis
    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Neil Postman Amusing Ourselves To Death Analysis

    “And so, I raise no objection to television's junk. The best things on television are its junk, and no one and nothing is seriously threatened by it. Besides, we do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant. Therein is our problem, for television is at its most trivial and, therefore, most dangerous when its aspirations are high, when it presents itself as a carrier of important cultural conversations. The irony here is that this is what intellectuals and critics are constantly…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Analysis Of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death
    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An Analysis Of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death

    Television is the predominant media-metaphor of this generation. Television shapes the way people think, act, and communicate; however, this powerful apparatus does not always disclose the whole truth. In fact, television often hides the whole truth from the public, but, ironically, most people love the media and blindly believe what the media says. As Alford Huxley says, people will “adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” Unfortunately, Huxley’s hypothesis is slowly becoming a reality. In Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death,” Postman argues that the many facets of television people love will actually ruin them. Of these many facets of television, three are predominant. Television is ruining people’s lifestyles…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary Of The Trouble With Television By Robert Macneil
    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary Of The Trouble With Television By Robert Macneil

    The Trouble with Television is an Article that was written by Robert Macneil. In his Article he believes that television harms society. In the Article the author states that the main trouble with television is that it discourages concentration. Macneil believes that television requires to apply zero efforts, therefore resulting in zero concentration. If you don’t apply yourself and concentration, you will not be successful.…

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ehrenrichs Tv Essay
    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ehrenrichs Tv Essay

    “So why do we keep on watching [Television]?” challenges Barbara Ehrenreich in, The Worst Years of Our Lives. Ehrenreich alleges that television “has transformed the American people into root vegetables” (2-3). Television as we know it is a way to escape the troubles of the real world and enter into a sense of fantasy. People sit for hours watching television which is harmful and may brainwash people to believe what they are told. Television was never invented to exemplify the real world; it was merely a distraction in the path of our trajectory. However Ehrenreich classifies modern Americans as couch potatoes simply because they do not accomplish anything that is displayed on television. I disagree with Ehrenreich’s assertions about television because she assumes everything portrayed in television is danger and thrills. Much of what is advertised on television is informative and important in society.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between 'Charles Darwin And Blending Inherita'
    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Similarities Between 'Charles Darwin And Blending Inherita'

    As a child, one is constantly taught that a fact is simply an idea that can be proven. Albeit, in the scientific world, a fact connotes some form of evidence is needed, it is frequently used to describe a widely accepted notion about how the world works. According to the NCSE, a scientific fact is, “An observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as “true”” (para 2). These facts must be an observable function of the world, however, truth is subjective. What one society holds to be true does not always coincide with the truths held by a different society.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    South Park’s Influence on Television
    • 3141 Words
    • 13 Pages

    South Park’s Influence on Television

    Bibliography: Gray, Herman (1995). The Politics of Representation in Network Television. In H. Newcomb (Ed.), Television: The Critical View, 6th Edition. (pp. 282-285). New York: Oxford University Press.…

    • 3141 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Great Imagination Heist
    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Great Imagination Heist

    both positive and negative diction and details to express that too much television is desructive to…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Worst Years of Our Lives
    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Worst Years of Our Lives

    The insight provided by Barbara Ehrenreich is probably the sort of thing nobody would ever expect to hear--to the American audience, television is superior, all-knowing, and as time-consuming as sleep. In the twenty-first century at present, television has evolved internally, externally, and culturally. There is high-definition programming that supposedly increases the experience of watching, digital video recorders that allow people to set aside time to watch their favorite shows when they please, and remote controls that probably have Easy Bake Ovens should one decide to look hard enough. This is not to say that all television is necessarily a bad experience (what with National Geographic, the History Channel, and news programming on every other station), but for the most part, it has come to exist for the sole purpose of entertainment.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Telecommunications Act
    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Telecommunications Act

    Television has been expanding daily over the years. From the black and white, to HDTV. We are the public and we rely on mediums such as the newspaper, radio, and magazines to provide us with our daily dose of knowledge. But the one source we run to provide not only information and entertainment but visuals is television. Also…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Television's Influence On American Culture
    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Television's Influence On American Culture

    Throughout the years, television has brought America entertainment from around the world. In the beginning, the television was used solely for entertainment; however, in today’s society, it is being used to “influence the way people think about such important social issues…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media Influence On American Culture
    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Media Influence On American Culture

    Plus, television has provided a forum for politics, allowing republicans, democrats, and independents to voice their opinions on the state of our country and how to manage it. Television has always been criticized for promoting violence, sex, teen pregnancy, and our country’s growing obesity problem, but television has also been a way of bringing this country together and giving Americans the ability to open our minds to social and cultural changes like the civil rights movement and to draw strength from tragedy like the Kennedy Assassination or the Space shuttle Challenger explosion (Media and Culture Ch.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Television and the Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Television and the Rhetorical Analysis

    May 9th, 1961. Newton N. Minow stands in front of a convention of the National Association of Broadcasters to give his first big speech, “Television and the Public Interest.” Minow was appointed by President John F Kennedy himself, as the new chairman of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). His speech directly speaks about the influence and future of broadcasting television. He refers the current programming as a “vast wasteland” and ultimately advocates programming in the public interest. (Wikipedia 1)…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    High School Confidential: Notes On Teen Movies
    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages

    High School Confidential: Notes On Teen Movies

    Film and television have played a big role in Americans lives since their creation. Americans have seen how it has improved but most importantly what has changed as well. Since the beginning of history, one of the main purposes of television and film has been to entertain people and make them laugh. As quality changed overtime, so did the meaning of it. Modern television shows have now shifted their focus and expanded their purposes of television and film. Today, what is shown on the screen can have great effects on Americans. Television and film can be harmful to Americans by influencing bad behaviors, categorizing people and causing many to be unsatisfied with their lifestyles. As of 2016, it is accurate to say that many of the shows and…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics