After reading many of the blogs that my classmates have created, it has become clear that the majority of the students in my class feel that satirical news reportage is just as reliable, if not more reliable than traditional news reportage. In Allen’s blog he states that satirical news reportage is important because it contributes to the public sphere “As far as some of these satirical shows go, I find there to be a spectrum as to how serious these get and as a result, this shows how much they really contribute to the public sphere” (http://arcpcf.blogspot.ca/2013/11/fake-news-or-real-news.html). In satirical news reporting, the use of satire is present. In satire usage, the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, etcetera may be used to get a message across. The opinions of my classmates varied but after observing several blogs made by students in my class, it is clear that the majority of those opinions were that satirical news reporting can be just as effective for some people as traditional news reporting. Satirical news reporting differs from traditional news reporting because although they both involve releasing information and reporting news, they are done in completely different ways. Where as in traditional news reporting, news is typically read and revealed in a very literal and serious way, satirical news reporting is done in a very sarcastic and ironic way. There is controversy when deciding if this way is effective and successful for people. When considering this, there are many different opinions that can be formed by different people. However, it seems that the common opinion shared by the members in the class is that satirical news reporting can be just as effective as traditional news reportage.
There are several different examples of satirical news reportage usage that is useful for certain people. These examples are commonly television comedy shows or talk shows. Examples include, the Ellen DeGeneres, ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’, ‘The Colbert Report’, etcetera. These shows can be a good example of satirical news reporting because of the fact that many people worldwide watch these shows. The information that is released through these shows is exposed to many people and thus it can be very beneficial to release and report news during these television shows.
Despite this information, there are still those certain people out there who have opinions that completely differ from one another. Many people from my class such as Kennedy feel that there are problems that can be found with satirical news reporting. In Kennedy’s blog, they state: “Problems that do occur with these types of programs are often related to that certain stories, personalities, and situations are no laughing matter. Making light of the starving children in Africa would most certainly stir up controversy and likely trigger a new media focus of its own, with the instigator being most likely shown as carelessly insensitive” (http://bkennedy94.blogspot.ca/2013/11/is-fake-news-real-news.html).
In my personal opinion, satirical news reporting can be more effective to younger audiences. I feel this way due to the fact that the majority of people watching television shows that involve culture jamming and satirical news reporting are of a younger audience. It is more common for a younger audience to watch these shows is because they are commonly shows that are for less mature audiences. In Berna’s blog she says: “In Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Ron Burgundy sings a song for Mayor Ford’s campaign as a joke, while Chris Daughtry sings a song about Rob Ford on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Shows like these report the news, only to poke fun at it” (http://bernacayabyab.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/is-the-fake-news-the-real-news/). This quote is an example of how real news stories, are presented in a jokingly manner but are however still presenting realistic information. In my opinion, the common consensus established by members in my class is that satirical news reporting is just as successful as traditional news reporting was influenced on factors such as the age of the persons making these blogs and sharing their opinions. I believe that the shared consensus would change if the audience making the blogs changed as well.